


Memory's Struggle

by Squirrel_of_Mibu



Series: Gaia's Replay [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Cloud Strife Is So Done, Confused Cloud Strife, Everybody loves Cloud Strife, F/M, M/M, Memories of Hojo, Past Experimentation, Sane Sephiroth (Compilation of FFVII), Time Travel, it doesn't happen though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 142,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26046520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squirrel_of_Mibu/pseuds/Squirrel_of_Mibu
Summary: Things are looking up for Cadet Cloud Strife. He actually has friends, unlike in Nibelheim, and now General Sephiroth of all people wants to train him personally. If only he could figure out why everybody keeps asking him if he remembers.Or: A Time Travel Fix-it where everybody but Cloud remembers at first. Some are more subtle than others.
Relationships: Sephiroth/Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart/Rude, Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough, Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Series: Gaia's Replay [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2142453
Comments: 1002
Kudos: 2096





	1. Chapter 1

**“ _I’ve thought of a wonderful present for you… Shall I give you despair?”_**

14-year old Cloud Strife wakes with a start, eyes wide and heart racing. He scans the room wildly, the vision of a single black wing still behind his eyelids. When nothing appears out of the ordinary, he takes a deep, calming breath, unable to shake the feeling that he’s forgotten something important.

Glancing at the clock, he sighs – he needs to be up in 30 minutes. Even with the sight of black wings and feathers fading from his mind, there’s not enough time to even entertain the thought of going back to sleep. Slowly dragging himself out of bed, the only consolation he has is that his roommates are still asleep. He’s not sure how he would have explained this particular episode otherwise. He already gets enough flak for being quiet, he doesn’t need to add ‘prone to spontaneous panic attacks’ to the list.

“Bed’s smaller than the one in Edge,” he mumbles to himself, rummaging through his dresser for his cadet uniform. He’s lived here for the past few months, so he’s not sure why the sight of his room in the barracks feels so unfamiliar. He stops, one hand clutching his uniform, the other shooting up to run through blond spikes. “Wait… Edge? Where’s that?” he asks, brow furrowed. He had only ever lived in Nibelheim before. He had never even heard of a place called Edge. Deciding he’s not going to get any further with that train of thought, he goes back to the task at hand, head slightly aching from the extra abuse so early in the morning. “Ugh, no use worrying about that now. Probably something to do with that dream.”

* * *

Morning training goes as well as can be expected. Cloud’s not the best of the cadets, but at least he’s not the worst either. Growing up in the mountains of Nibelheim has really helped him keep up with, and in some cases surpass, his fellow cadets. He’s still sweaty and tired, though, when their drill sergeant dismisses them. He turns with the rest of the cadets to head back to the Shinra Building – the barracks and cafeteria housed within.

Mind still half-occupied with the events of the morning, he completely forgets to keep an eye out for Johnson – the biggest cadet in their group and Cloud’s main bully. Born and raised in Midgar, Johnson has always resented that a backwater kid like Cloud is the more skilled of the two, especially with how much shorter Cloud is.

The only warning he has of the coming danger is the yell of “Outta the way, Chocobo-head!” Next thing he knows, he is sprawled on the floor, a dull pain in his side from being shoved.

“What the hell, Johnson!” yells Garrett, who is in front of him now. Garrett is the tallest of Cloud’s roommates and the one least likely to take Johnson’s shit. He claims it’s cause of his red hair – makes him fiery. Cloud thinks ‘fiery’ is just a nicer way of saying ‘loud’, but he would never say that, especially not with the teen currently acting as a human barrier.

Johnson just laughs snidely in response as he brushes past and enters the Shinra Building, flanked by his lackeys.

His remaining roommates help him to his feet. Logan is equally as protective as Garrett, though Cloud doesn’t think his short brown hair has anything to do with that. Colin is shorter than the other two, but is still taller than Cloud. His hair is blond, but it’s not spiky, so he doesn’t have to deal with the Chocobo comparisons (Cloud swears he’s not bitter).

These 3 might be his roommates, but they are also his friends. His only friends. Cloud is too quiet (too strange) and Johnson too popular for any of the other cadets to associate with him. Sometimes, he’s still a little surprised that he actually has friends. He never had any in Nibelheim, so the idea of actually having some is still a little foreign to him. Yes, Tifa was nice to him (practically the only one), but she had her own friends. Friends who **did not** approve of him.

* * *

Lunch in the cadet cafeteria starts normally enough, Garrett and Logan gossiping about whatever strikes their fancy. Colin and, less frequently, Cloud joining in every now and then.

“Definitely steer clear of Heidegger today, man,” Garrett says between bites of food. “I heard the President tore him a new one. In front of the other directors no less!” Director Heidegger was a large, cruel man with a nasty temper. Not above attacking those around him, you did not want to be around when he was in a mood. His presence definitely did not bring joy.

Logan snorts. “Probably mocked his laugh again, too.”

Cloud’s not sure why this conversation seems so off. Everybody knows that President Rufus can’t stand the head of Public Security. Or his trademark ‘horse’ laugh. If Garrett’s mouth wasn’t currently full, he would no doubt be mocking the man’s laugh himself – _gya haa haa haa!_

“I don’t understand why he doesn’t just fire the man,” Logan continues. That would be nice. Then they could have somebody competent in charge of Public Security. Rather than someone who viewed his underlings as disposable pawns.

“Maybe he wants to keep an eye on him?” Colin asks tentatively. Rufus’s oversight definitely prevented Heidegger from getting away with the things he could under the former President. It was probably easier for the Turks to keep an eye on him, too, if he stayed where he was. If he even thought of hurting the President, the Turks would know. They were loyal to Rufus and Rufus alone.

“Or make him suffer,” adds Logan. Cloud wouldn’t be surprised. Rufus did seem to enjoy humiliating the man.

Garrett hums. “Probably deciding whether to kill him like his old man or not.” Ok. Not where he expected this conversation to go, but this is Garrett, so not entirely surprising. “Not that I’m complaining though. The slums are a lot nicer since he took over."

Colin obviously didn’t anticipate the turn of the conversation as he splutters out a squeaky, “wait… what??” Cloud didn’t either and he’s sure the look on his face must echo Colin’s spoken sentiment.

Garrett gives the both of them a weird look. “You didn’t know? It’s all anybody talked about in Midgar after it happened.”

“I’m from Mideel, dude. All I heard was former President Shinra died of natural causes,” Colin says. Cloud grunts his approval. That was more or less what was said in Nibelheim.

“I keep forgetting you two are backwater boys.” Garrett had grown up in the Sector 4 slums. Logan in Sector 3. “He was shot in the head.” President Rufus was known for his sawed-off shotgun. And his all-white suit. And his good looks – nope, stopping that train of thought right there.

“Like Professor Hojo,” offers Logan. If anyone mourned former President Shinra’s death, nobody mourned Hojo’s. The former head of the Research and Development Division was known to be a ruthless man only interested in his research. He enjoyed seeing other people suffer and the rumor was he could make you disappear if he took an interest in you. Cloud’s glad that he doesn’t have to deal with that, shaking away the voice in the back of his head begging for a number at the thought of the man.

“Did… did the President kill him, too?” Colin’s voice is almost a whisper, his eyes so wide, Cloud’s afraid they might pop out of his head.

Logan glances around them to make sure nobody else is listening before continuing. “Nah, I think it was that Turk from Nibelheim.”

“Nibelheim?” Cloud asks, surprised. He’d never heard of a Turk from his hometown, though he can’t quite get the image of a tattered red cloak out of his mind.

“Oh, so you are paying attention! You’re quieter than normal.” Garrett is all smiles. “Which **is** saying something.” His roommates are used to him being quiet, though that doesn’t stop them from teasing him good-naturedly.

“Sorry... Just got a lot on my mind.” He still doesn’t feel comfortable bringing up whatever happened this morning.

Garrett is still smiling as he reaches over to ruffle Cloud’s hair. “I’m just messing with you, kid.”

Cloud huffs. “Kid? We’re the same age.” They all were. Garrett just had a few months on him (and several inches, his traitorous brain adds).

Garrett laughs, “I’m still taller, though!” He vaguely wonders if Garrett can read his thoughts.

Ignoring Garrett’s antics, Logan continues. “Long black hair, red eyes. Day after Hojo’s found dead, he’s seen wandering the building. I hear he spent a long time in Nibelheim before that. You never saw him there, Cloud?”

Cloud shakes his head. “Definitely would remember if I saw somebody like that in Nibelheim.” He does not mention that he sees this man **all** the time in the Shinra Building, the Turk’s piercing red eyes following his every movement. He doesn’t need his friends worrying or thinking he’s paranoid… or both. It’s probably just a coincidence, including that one time Cloud saw him in the hallway outside the cadet barracks. Nobody else seemed to notice him at least.

“I’ve never seen him before.” Colin’s eyes are still wide, but his voice is back to its usual volume. He’s completely engrossed in the conversation now, his half-eaten lunch forgotten.

“Hmm,” Logan hums around a mouthful of food. “I’ve only ever seen him a few times.” Garrett nods in agreement, quiet for once. Cloud is definitely not saying anything now. Besides, if the Turk was following him, Cloud probably would never notice him. Yep, nothing weird about this at all.

“Well, at least Hojo’s death was better than Hollander’s,” Garrett quips. “I heard he was burned to a crisp.”

“Hollander?” Cloud had never heard of the man. Colin looks like he hadn’t either. Must be another backwater boy thing.

“Another scientist like Hojo,” Garrett replies. “I hear he was **not** happy when Hojo became head of R&D. He wanted the spot for himself.” Well, if Hollander was anything like Hojo, Cloud thinks it’s better that he’s dead, too.

“I bet it was Commander Rhapsodos who did it. I’ve heard there was no love lost between the two.” Cloud is just glad that that was Logan who commented and not Garrett. They really don’t need anybody overhearing their conversation. “Everybody knows how adept he is at magic and his particular affinity for fire. I hear he’s not allowed to teach low-level materia classes anymore because of his habit of lobbing fireballs at those he finds annoying.” Cloud makes a mental note not to annoy the man.

“Did the Turks not investigate the deaths?” Colin asks.

Logan grimaces. “They did, but they found no evidence of wrongdoing. Said all three of them died of natural causes.”

Garrett slams a fist on the table. “They’re in on it, too! How is being burned alive natural??” Or shot in the head for that matter, Cloud thinks.

Logan slaps a hand over Garrett’s mouth. “Dude, keep your voice down unless you want to disappear.” If the Turks were good at one thing, it was making people disappear.

Their conversation slips to lighter topics after that and Cloud returns his attention to his food.

* * *

They’re almost done with lunch when the ground is completely ripped out from underneath Cloud.

“Whoa! What the hell is Fair doing here??” Garrett exclaims.

Cloud looks up and, sure enough, Zack Fair is standing near the entrance of the cafeteria, eyes scanning over the sea of cadets. He’s wearing his usual 1st Class SOLDIER uniform, but he still looks too young to Cloud’s eyes. He’s also missing a scar that Cloud could have sworn he had, but no use dwelling on that now. This is no time to be having a mental breakdown, especially if Cloud wants to make SOLDIER, too.

He is just thinking that he bets Zack doesn’t have to deal with people making fun of his hair, spiky as it is, when mako blue eyes meet his own sapphire ones. He doesn’t even notice the tear that slides down his face.

**_“You’ll be my living legacy.”_ **

Zack brightens in an instant, a radiant smile splitting his face, and then he’s practically bouncing over to their table. His nickname, Zack the Puppy, definitely well-earned.

“Shit. Is he coming over here?” Colin whispers, looking at the rest of the table. “Wait… Cloud, are you crying?” Which, of course, causes his other roommates to turn their attention to him as well. So much for not worrying them.

“I’m not…” Cloud stops when he realizes that he actually is crying and goes to dry his eyes instead. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Which was completely true, but didn’t really help explain his crying over a 1st Class SOLDIER.

He’s saved from any further interrogation when Zack stops at their table. Right in front of Cloud. He just hopes the other teen can’t tell that he’s been crying.

“Heya Spike!” Zack’s smile is almost infectious. If it wasn’t for his complete state of confusion, Cloud might have smiled back.

“Uh… hi?” Cloud responds lamely. He certainly wouldn’t be winning any awards for quick-thinking.

A look of confusion flickers across Zack’s face. It happens so quickly, though, that Cloud is half-sure he imagined it. Wouldn’t be the first thing today.

“You do know who I am, right?” Zack asks. Which is a strange question. How could he not know? Zack was one of the strongest SOLDIERs and a 1st Class one, to boot. The guy was the only SOLDIER other than the Golden Trio to have his own fan club. Not that Cloud was a member or anything.

“SOLDIER 1st Class Zack Fair, sir?” Cloud wonders if this is some sort of weird test. The day’s been strange enough already.

Zack visibly deflates and Cloud is trying to think of ways to bring that smile back when the question that will haunt him for a good while to come passes Zack’s lips. “You don’t remember, do you?”

“Uhh… remember what, sir?” Obviously, his confusion wasn’t going away any time soon. At least his roommates look just as confused, small consolation as it was.

Zack hesitates, running a hand through black spikes, then sighs. His smile is back the next moment, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes this time. “No worries, Spikey! I’m here to fetch you for the General anyway!”

Several things happen in that next second. Logan chokes, Colin stutters something that distinctly sounds like “S-Sephiroth?”, and Garrett yells, “What the heck did you do this time??” Well, at least Cloud knows that they’re still paying attention. He just hopes that nobody else in the cafeteria can hear their conversation. Especially not Johnson. He’s on the opposite end of the cafeteria, though, so maybe Cloud will be lucky.

Ignoring the way that he almost copies Garrett’s thought process, Cloud asks, “Am I in trouble, sir?” He really hopes not. He’s not sure what would warrant a visit to General Sephiroth’s office, but if he’s in trouble, it must be something serious.

Zack laughs. “Of course not! And call me Zack! I have the feeling that we’re going to be great friends.” His roommates look a little jealous at that. Friends with a 1st Class SOLDIER is like a dream come true.

Cloud looks at the other teen in complete shock. Zack outranked him by a lot. “But, sir, I can’t…”

Zack sighs, “Not sir. Zack.”

He looks at his other roommates, but they’re too shocked to be of any help. Turning back to Zack, he tries again. “But, sir, that would be inappropriate.”

Zack shakes his head. “Nuh-uh. Repeat after me. Zack.” He says, stretching out his name.

Cloud sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Fine… Zack.”

Zack’s smile finally reaches his eyes again. “See? That wasn’t so hard.” Then he’s pulling Cloud from his seat and out of the cafeteria. He doesn’t let go even as they start their trek through the building.

Cloud finds that he doesn’t mind as much as he thinks he should. He just wishes there was no one else around. Zack is practically holding his hand and people are definitely staring. He really hopes his face is not as red as Garrett’s hair.

“You can let go of my hand now, sir.” At Zack’s pointed look, he tries again. “I mean, Zack. People are starting to stare.” And Cloud is not a big fan of attention.

Zack keeps smiling, but doesn’t take his hand away. “No can do, Cloudy. If I let go of you, you might disappear, and then what would I tell the General?”

Cloud sighs, exasperated. “There’s no way I could outrun a 1st Class SOLDIER.” Or any SOLDIER for that matter, but definitely not a 1st Class one.

“Not now, no. But when you become a SOLDIER, I know you’ll give me a run for my money.” Zack replies easily.

Cloud can’t help the warmth that rushes through his body at that. Zack said _when_ , not _if_ , and he made it sound like he was confident Cloud would make it to his level, too. There was no hint of deceit in his voice, either. He hopes that Zack was right before and they do become friends.

It doesn’t take them long to reach the elevator and when they enter, Zack presses the button for floor 50, his other hand still wrapped protectively around Cloud’s.

Standing next to Zack, facing the doors of the elevator, Cloud totally misses the calculating look in the other’s eyes. “I’m from Gongaga, by the way.” Cloud can’t help the chuckle that falls from his throat as he turns to look at Zack.

“Hey, what’s so funny about that! You know Gongaga?” Zack’s still smiling, though, so he can’t be upset.

“No, but it’s such a backwater name.” Cloud can’t shake the feeling that he’s had this conversation before. Which is weird since he just met the SOLDIER.

“What about you?” Zack’s eyes are brighter than usual and Cloud can’t quite make out the emotion he sees in them.

“Nibelheim,” He answers. At least it sounds better than Gongaga.

“There’s a mako reactor there, right?” Zack asks, excitement almost palpable. He continues after Cloud nods. “A mako reactor outside Midgar usually means…”

“Nothing else out there.” They both answer at the same time. Zack looks like he just won the jackpot and Cloud’s sense of déjà vu intensifies.

Before either of them can say anything else, the elevator dings, signaling its arrival at the 50th floor. Cloud follows Zack out and they make the rest of the journey to Sephiroth’s office in silence.

Zack knocks once, then twice on the door. “Come in,” directs a deep voice from the other side. They enter and Zack finally lets go of Cloud’s hand, going to stand in front of Sephiroth’s desk. Cloud only mourns the loss of warmth for a moment, though. His attention is stolen by the man sitting behind the desk, still working on paperwork, not a single strand of silver hair out of place.

Sephiroth is everything Cloud wants to be. His idol and his entire reason for coming to Midgar in the first place. Cloud can’t believe he’s this close to the man, the posters definitely do not do him justice. Still in a state of shock, Cloud really hopes that the two SOLDIERs’ enhanced hearing can’t make out just how fast his heart is racing.

“I’m back with Cadet Strife, sir.” Zack salutes, shoulders tense. Sephiroth nods and Zack relaxes. Sephiroth’s green, slitted eyes are then on Cloud, who still has not moved from the entrance of the room. He doesn’t have to worry about SOLDIER hearing any more – with Sephiroth’s eyes on him, he’s pretty sure his heart has stopped beating altogether.

“Ah, _Cloud_. Thank you for coming.” Cloud really does try to stop the shiver that goes through him at the way Sephiroth practically caresses his name. He’s completely unsuccessful, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking of Garet from Golden Sun while writing Garrett, so that might have had some influence on his character.


	2. Chapter 2

It’s been about a year, he thinks. A year since Sephiroth woke up and **remembered**. Remembered everything. Everything that was, that could have been, and that had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

He remembered the training accident, the desertion of his best friends, Angeal’s death, Genesis’s degradation and disappearance. Remembered the mission to Nibelheim that should have been nothing but routine. Remembered Jenova’s pull on his already grieving mind. Remembered the research notes that in his shaken state he took for absolute scripture. He knew better now – knew that they were most likely lies that Hojo left behind for him to find. Even with Sephiroth being the strongest being on the planet – Shinra’s war hero, the Demon of Wutai – Hojo just couldn’t stop himself from screwing with his _perfect creation_.

He remembered the fire (that he started). Remembered the shiver of flesh yielding to cold steel. Remembered describing the death of Cloud’s mother to the man using those exact same words. Remembered killing the flower girl – the Ancient. Remembered summoning Meteor to destroy Midgar, to destroy Shinra. Remembered the Remnants and the fight in the ruins of Midgar. And he remembered his ultimate defeat.

But most of all he remembered Cloud Strife. The once trooper turned failed experiment turned Gaia’s champion. The only one who could ever stop him.

One look in his friends’ eyes when he saw them next told him that Genesis and Angeal remembered, too. If they noticed the way that his eyes swam with unshed tears at the sight of them, they were kind enough not to mention anything. This would have been quite the accomplishment for Genesis, given that the Red Mage never passed up an opportunity to one-up Sephiroth since declaring their rivalry. Perhaps his friends missed him as much as he did them.

They quickly discovered that they were not the only ones who remembered. Rufus Shinra and at least three of the Turks – Tseng, Reno, and Rude – found themselves in the same situation. Rufus claimed that he wanted to do things right this time, that he owed the planet a debt. Sephiroth certainly agreed with that sentiment. He was at least as culpable, if not more so, for the state the planet ended up in the first time. He definitely owed it to the planet and everybody to set things right.

That was how they decided to cull the ranks. Sephiroth would kill Hojo, Genesis would go for Hollander, and Rufus would take care of his father. With the Turks on their side, they didn’t have to worry about any repercussions. Granted, Director Veld of the Turks did not remember, but once he found out about the experiments Hojo performed on his daughter and his former partner, he gladly turned a blind eye. He was a Turk after all – they were good at keeping secrets.

Angeal didn’t entirely approve of the plan – SOLDIER honor and all that – but he did agree that those three needed to die. Not that he could have stopped them if he had wanted to. Genesis refused to waste the ‘Gift of the Goddess’ that they were provided. Apparently, degradation had not dulled his obsession with _Loveless_.

They agreed not to go after Heidegger or Scarlet. Killing all of the directors would look suspicious. Leaving those two alive, there was at least some plausible deniability. Besides, Sephiroth isn’t entirely convinced that Rufus doesn’t enjoy making Heidegger suffer.

Sephiroth picked a time when Hojo would be alone in his labs, but when he arrived, he found the scientist already dead. A single bullet through his head, his killer still standing over him. Sephiroth recognized the red cloaked man as one of Cloud’s former companions. The gunman had his weapon trained on Sephiroth in the next second, obviously trying to decide whether or not to end him before he became the planet-destroying threat he had once been.

He’s not sure whether it was the recognition the gunman saw in his eyes or the fact that Sephiroth made no move to defend himself, Masamune still sheathed at his side, but the man – Vincent Valentine, he said – lowered his weapon and talked. Vincent told him of his mother – his **real** mother – Lucrecia Crescent. He told him of her love for her son, of her guilt over her actions and what she allowed Hojo to do. But most importantly, he told him of the cave that Lucrecia fled to and still resided in. Sephiroth silently made plans to visit her when he had the chance.

More shocking for him was that Vincent was his real father, not Hojo. Especially since Vincent didn’t look that much older than Sephiroth himself. But Vincent told him of the experiments that Hojo had performed on him which stopped him from aging (he realized that this must be the former partner of Veld’s that the Turks had mentioned).

Vincent left to find Veld shortly after, swapping in his red cloak for a black suit. Sephiroth returned to his quarters, somewhat disappointed that he didn’t get to see the look on Hojo’s face when he found out he wasn’t actually Sephiroth’s father.

* * *

Sephiroth knows that Zack did not remember at first. After Angeal remembered, the man started spending more time with his student – probably in an attempt to atone for everything he had put the puppy through the first time. Being forced to cut down his mentor had really dampened Zack’s energetic, optimistic personality. Zack, however, took the extra attention in complete stride, as cheerful as ever.

Now, though, he is almost certain that Zack remembers. He’s not sure how to explain the teen’s recent behavior otherwise. Every time they happen to be within the same vicinity, he looks like he can’t decide whether or not he wants to punch Sephiroth. That was part of the reason Sephiroth had decided it was about time he talked with Zack.

A knock on his door pulls him from his thoughts and he beckons the newcomer in. Zack enters and moves to the center of the room, his entire body tense and fists balled at his sides. “General, sir, you called for me?” His voice is stiff, too.

“Good morning, Zack. Please take a seat,” Sephiroth gestures to the chair in front of his desk. When Zack makes no move to sit, Sephiroth continues, “I take it you remember.”

A look of surprise flashes over the teen’s face, but is gone just as quickly. “Remember what, sir?”

“Don’t play coy, Zackary. You remember the… destruction I wrought.” A look of _anger, grief, pain_ passes over Zack’s face, but he does not respond, body as tense as a drawn bow. “If you wish to punch me, go ahead. I owe you that much at the very least.”

The sincerity in his tone must convince Zack of something and the tension bleeds from his shoulders, though he still refuses to sit. He gives Sephiroth a long, searching look before responding, “So… on a scale of 1 to _burn Nibelheim to the ground_ , how are you feeling today?”

Sephiroth sighs. “Hilarious, Zackary.” That earns him a small chuckle and Zack finally sits down.

“So, you remember and you’re good now? No more trying to destroy the planet?” The teen looks uncertain, but there is warmth in his eyes. Leave it to Zack to try and still be friends after everything Sephiroth had done to hurt him, directly or not.

“I wish I could say for certain. Last time, Jenova took advantage of my grief and anger and used that against me to gain control. This time, Genesis, Angeal, and I all remember what could be and we have no intentions of repeating our past mistakes. However, I can’t be sure that I will be immune to Jenova’s influence.”

Zack gives him a calculating look and must see something hidden within his eyes. “You’re afraid.”

“…I suppose I am.” Fear of an extraterrestrial evil that could control his actions through its cells in his body seems justified.

“What do we do then?” Diving right in as usual.

“That is part of the reason I called you here today. I take it you remember your little trooper friend?” His question was more of a formality than anything. He knows there’s no chance that Zack remembers Sephiroth and not Cloud. Those two were practically joined at the hip, even if only briefly.

“Spike?”

“I intend to become Cadet Strife’s mentor and train him as Angeal did you.” Zack definitely does not like that answer, anger flickering over his face again. Before he can say anything, though, Sephiroth continues, “I know I’ve hurt him enough as is, enough for more than 2 lifetimes, but he was the only one who was ever able to best me. He’s the only one capable of stopping me if I – ”

“Go batshit crazy again?” Zack finishes for him.

“Yes, that. I have no intention of giving in to Jenova again. But in case I’m not successful, Cloud will need to be on SOLDIER level again. And this time without Hojo’s _help,_ ” Sephiroth says, spitting the last word.

“Was that you, by the way? You know, the one who…” Zack replies, running a finger over his neck.

“It would have been me, but Vincent beat me to it.” Part of him was a little bitter that he wasn’t the one to end the creep’s life. But after everything that Hojo had put Vincent through, the gunman had totally earned the right.

“Vincent?”

“Turk with long black hair and red eyes. And… my father.” Sephiroth probably looked about as shocked then as Zack does now. “I know he doesn’t look it, but he’s probably around Director Veld’s age. He no longer ages because of… what Hojo did to him.” Sephiroth doesn’t need to explain more than that. Zack is intimately familiar with Hojo’s hospitality.

Zack worries his bottom lip, deep in thought. “Genesis and Angeal know about Jenova, right? What if I go with them and we torch the sucker?”

Sephiroth shakes his head. “It will not be that easy. Genesis and Angeal were enhanced in a similar manner as I. I am unsure how much sway Jenova will hold over them. Besides, we need to be very careful as to how we dispose of her. If Jenova is absorbed into the Lifestream, the results could be catastrophic. Unfortunately, Cloud Strife is our best bet.”

They sit in silence for a few minutes while Zack tries to absorb everything. Then Zack sighs. “Fine. I don’t exactly agree with this, but if you think training Spikey is the only way, then I’ll trust you.” Zack’s easy acceptance makes Sephiroth wish he had never failed him in the first place.

* * *

“Ah, _Cloud_. Thank you for coming.” Cloud really does try to stop the shiver that goes through him at the way Sephiroth practically caresses his name. He’s completely unsuccessful, though. Thankfully he doesn’t have to worry about Sephiroth noticing his reaction since the General’s attention is on Zack once more.

“Thank you for bringing him, Zack. You are free to go.” It’s a clear dismissal, but Zack makes no move to leave. Instead, he fidgets a bit in place, looking uncomfortable.

“But, sir. He…” Zack cuts himself off, like he’s not entirely sure how to finish his sentence.

Sephiroth does not give him a chance to continue his train of thought. “I will handle the rest, Zack. You are dismissed.”

“Yes, sir.” And Zack turns to leave, stopping in front of Cloud first. “I’ll see you later, ok, Spike?” Zack smiles and ruffles Cloud’s hair. The sensation is so familiar that Cloud almost feels like crying again. “Don’t worry, he’s not that bad.” Zack turns his head and gives the General a look. “Well, most of the time, at least.” Something like a grimace passes over the General’s face. Cloud gets the distinct feeling that he’s missing something, though he has no idea what. But Zack’s already leaving the room, not that Cloud would have asked anyway.

Sephiroth turns his attention back to Cloud. Luckily, the short respite provided by Zack means he can breathe again. “Please take a seat.”

Cloud crosses the room on trembling legs. He might have his breathing back under control, but he’s still shaken. He really has no idea what’s going on. He tries not to drop too unceremoniously into the chair in front of the General’s desk.

Sephiroth is wearing his usual outfit – a SOLDIER harness over his bare chest, a black leather coat fastened only at the waist, showing off said chest, and large silver pauldrons that probably make his shoulders look bigger than they actually are. His long silver hair is smooth and silky – Cloud idly wonders how much shampoo he goes through for it – and his green, slitted eyes are as captivating as ever.

The General gives him a searching look, hands laced in front of him. “I take it you do not remember.”

Remember? Not Sephiroth, too. If both Zack and the General were asking if he remembered, what exactly had he done? He really hopes it was nothing bad.

“R-remember, sir? I’m not sure what you’re referring to. I hope it was nothing bad, sir.” More importantly, he hopes it was nothing that he had done. He really does not want to face the ridicule back in Nibelheim for not only not having made SOLDIER but for being kicked out altogether.

“Relax, Cloud, you are not in trouble.” Cloud tries to relax, he really does, but telling him not to be nervous in this instance is like telling a Chocobo not to say ‘kweh’. Cloud sighs internally. Great, now he’s the one making Chocobo references.

“H-how can I be of assistance then, sir?” Well, at least he can handle formality in his confused state.

“I have been watching you, Cloud. I intend to become your mentor and train you to be better prepared for the SOLDIER exam.” Cloud’s pretty sure this is how at least half of his fantasies start. He’s doesn’t think he’s dreaming, though. He pinched himself on the way over to make sure.

“May I ask why, sir? I’m nothing special.” He really isn’t, though he wishes he had the foresight to keep his mouth shut. This is everything he’s wanted since leaving Nibelheim.

“On the contrary, Cloud. You are the only one capable of stopping me.” Wait, what?

“Uh… stop you from what, sir?” Cloud is so, so confused.

“Stop me from losing myself.”

Nope, nothing makes sense today. Cloud’s not really sure how he’s supposed to stop anybody from losing themselves when he himself is so completely lost.

“Am I dreaming, sir?” Maybe if pinching no longer works and he calls out the dream directly, he’ll finally wake up to things making sense again. Softer, he adds to himself, “This certainly sounds like one of my dreams…”

He did not intend for Sephiroth to hear that last part, but going from the smirk on the General’s face, Cloud knows he had. He has enhanced hearing, anyway. Cloud wouldn’t be entirely surprised to find out that he could hear thoughts, too.

“Do you dream of me often, _Cloud_?” Shit. That purr was back.

**_”Stay where you belong. In my memories.”_ **

Cloud swallows. “Uh… Of course not, sir.” Sephiroth is still smirking, though, so Cloud gets the feeling that he doesn’t believe him.

“This is no dream,” is Sephiroth’s simple response.

**_”I will never be a memory.”_ **

Ignoring the strange voices in his head, Cloud lets Sephiroth dominate the conversation from there on. He’s still too confused to be of any help and he has no desire to embarrass himself any more than he already has. This certainly isn’t how he pictured first meeting the General, but he’ll take what he can get. And if Sephiroth wanted to train him, as illogical as it was, he wasn’t going to complain.

“You will still be expected to take part in routine patrols, but from this point on, you will no longer participate in normal training. Instead, I will oversee all of your training personally. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Personal training with the General **and** less time around Johnson? Cloud is definitely not complaining.

“Good. The rest of the day is yours to do with as you please. We will start tomorrow. Report here at 0800 sharp.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Thank you, Cloud. You are free to go.” Sephiroth turns back to his paperwork as Cloud stands and makes his way to the door. At least he can’t see just how shaky Cloud’s legs still are.


	3. Chapter 3

Cloud leaves Sephiroth’s office still in a complete state of confusion. He has absolutely no idea what’s going on. What are these voices that he keeps hearing? What did Zack and General Sephiroth mean when they asked if he remembered? Just what had he forgotten? And perhaps most importantly to him, why did the General select him specifically out of all of the other cadets? He told himself he wouldn’t complain, but nothing makes sense anymore.

He really doesn’t want to run into anybody that he knows right now. He’ll talk to his roommates about everything later, but he can’t handle that right now. Not with all the confusion and anxiety coursing through him. He decides that the best thing to do would be to take a nice, calming walk. He hasn’t really had a chance to look around the plate and he has the rest of the day to himself.

Happy with his new plan, he retraces his and Zack’s steps back to the elevator. He’s not running away, it’s a strategic retreat. He’ll be able to handle his roommates better if he can think straight again. Yup, totally not running.

He somehow makes it all the way to the third floor without further incident, the elevator he took not going any lower. He makes it past the small cafeteria and lounge on that floor and is almost down the stairs to the main lobby, when two people come through the main entrance. Two people that he somehow instinctively knows will be trouble. Granted, they were Turks and Turks were always trouble or so he had heard.

“Man! That Wutaian place was no joke, partner! Boss-man really knows how to pick ‘em.” He hears the shorter, red-haired one say. The taller, bald one grunts in approval. “Shame we didn’t know ‘bout it the first time ‘round, yo.”

The red-head has goggles on his head, red tattoos under his eyes, and apparently no idea how to button a suit. His jacket is fastened at the waist with a single clasp and only the middle 3 buttons of his dress shirt are actually done up, leaving a good portion of his chest on display. The man’s spiky red hair extends into a long ponytail and Cloud curses the part of his brain that thinks that this Turk pulls off the hairstyle better than he had when he was younger.

The bald one on the other hand has an appropriately buttoned suit, complete with tie. This one, though, is wearing sunglasses indoors and makes no move to remove them. Weird. Cloud wonders if it’s like some sort of security blanket.

They seem absorbed in their rather one-sided conversation as Cloud makes it to the bottom of the stairs. He’s just thinking that he’s in the clear as he passes the reception desk, when the red-head looks up and turquoise eyes land on him. The smirk that spreads over the Turk’s face sends a distinct feeling of dread to the pit of his stomach. The man’s red hair no doubt makes him at least as ‘fiery’ as Garrett. He wishes he had his helmet with him, but that’s back in his room with his rifle since he only needs them for patrol.

“Hey! Look who it is!” And with that, the bald Turk’s attention is on him as well. At least the look on this one’s face is not predatory like his partner’s. Then again, with those sunglasses hiding the man’s eyes, who knows…

“Oi, Mister First Class!” What? First Class? Cloud looks around him, but doesn’t see any 1st Class SOLDIERs anywhere. Weird. The red-head couldn’t be talking to him, right? He’s not a 1st Class anything. Deciding he has too much on his plate already to find out, he keeps his head lowered while he walks past the Turks, pretending like he doesn’t notice them.

“Hey, I’m talkin’ to you, Blondie!” Nope. Not looking around. Perhaps if he pretends like nothing’s wrong, all his problems will go away. Unfortunately, that’s never worked for him before and before he even makes it halfway across the lobby, there’s a hand on his arm, stopping him in his tracks. He glances forlornly at the all-glass doors leading out of the Shinra Building. He was so close…

“Is this because of the plate thing, yo?” He turns to look at the red-head, whose hand is still on his arm. He has half a mind to tell him that he’s not going to disappear – he’s not even sure why Zack thought that in the first place – but before he has a chance, the man is talking again. “We said we were sorry, man.”

Cloud opens his mouth, totally prepared to tell them that he has no idea what they are talking about, which seems to be a repeating pattern today. Before he has a chance, though, the bald one is responding. “No, we didn’t.”

“Oh.” The red-head finally releases Cloud’s arm and rubs the back of his neck, looking a little sheepish. “Well, we’re sorry, yo.” He says a little lamely, looking at Cloud expectantly.

Not really sure what they mean by the ‘plate thing’, but also not wanting to prolong the conversation any longer than completely necessary, Cloud responds, “Ok?”

Apparently, this is the wrong answer because the red-head smiles and continues talking. “Yeah, the President is tryna find alternative energy sources just like the WRO was before. We’re even working with Avalanche this time around, yo! Can ya believe it?? You remember your ol’ buddies, right? The big, loud one and the foul-mouthed one, yeah? They’re helping out, too!” WRO? Avalanche? His buddies? Cloud really has no idea what’s going on, but neither Turk seems to notice his confusion.

“Barret and Cid, you mean,” The bald one corrects. Nope, Cloud doesn’t know anybody by those names.

“That’s what I said, Rude!” The red-head says, back to smirking.

The bald one – Rude? – sighs before turning his attention to Cloud. “I… Ah.” He raises a fist in front of his face and clears his throat, looking suddenly uncomfortable. “How is Tifa?” He asks, a small blush forming on his cheeks.

**_“Hey, Rude. Who do you like?” “…Tifa.”_ **

Cloud feels anger build in him. How does this Turk even know Tifa? Ignoring the voice in the back of his head that warns him not to make a Turk mad, he glares at the man. “Tifa is 13 years old,” he says, voice sharp enough to cut metal.

He hardly registers the red-head’s cry of “Whoa! Cool down, Blondie!” as he continues to glare at Rude. The Turk in question fidgets in place, clearly embarrassed. “That’s not… I’m not… I just…”

Cloud doesn’t give him a chance to even attempt to finish a complete sentence. “How do you even know Tifa??” They might not really be friends, but he had promised to save Tifa if she was ever in trouble. This probably counts.

“Don’t you remember?” Rude asks, his partner quiet for once.

“Reno. Rude. It is clear that Strife does not remember. Please stop confusing the poor boy.” Cloud starts at the sound of the new voice and turns to find another Turk. This one has long black hair, but unlike Cloud’s not-stalker, the man’s eyes are brown. He has a tilak in the center of his forehead and is distinctly of Wutaian descent.

The Turk’s sudden appearance almost has a calming influence on Cloud, but the man had also commented on his lack of remembering and Cloud was so tired of hearing that question today.

“Remember!? Just what is everybody talking about??” Cloud practically yells. He realizes that, surprisingly, they have no audience. Any potential onlookers hurry past, resolutely not looking at the three Turks and the small, angry cadet. He must be scary in his state of anger. That or nobody wants to be around for whatever the Turks do to him for being disrespectful. He ignores that thought, too.

“My sincerest apologies, Cadet Strife.” The newcomer says, placing a hand over his chest and bowing slightly. “Please do not worry yourself over it.”

“Little late for that,” he responds, a little petulantly. The Turk’s apology had mollified him quite a bit, but he apparently wasn’t completely done with the disrespect.

Luckily, there is only amusement in the man’s dark eyes as he apologizes again. “You will have to forgive my subordinates. They can be a little overzealous at times.” Reno squawks a bit at that but doesn’t respond. “My name is Tseng and you have already quite unfortunately stumbled upon Reno and Rude.” He says, gesturing to each Turk in turn. “If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to ask.” And he bows once more.

**_“Not interested.”_ **

Shaking away the weird voice (his voice?) and the strange feeling that he’s said those exact words many times to these men before, men that he’s only just met, he instead responds intelligently with, “Uh… Ok. Thanks.” It’ll have to do.

The Turk – Tseng, he had said – seems pleased at least and makes no further comment as Cloud stumbles around him and out the glass doors.

* * *

After leaving the Shinra Building, Cloud wanders somewhat aimlessly, letting his feet guide him as he tries to recover enough to think straight again. Without realizing it, his feet have taken him to Loveless Avenue in Sector 8. Loveless Theater is directly ahead of him, a large advertisement for the current adaptation on display above the main entrance. Next to the theater is Goblin’s Bar, but Cloud doesn’t pay much attention to it, underage as he is.

Approaching the theater, he half expects to see a flower girl out front, but there’s no one there. At least no one selling flowers. He’s not sure why this seems weird since he’s never been to this part of Sector 8 before. Perhaps one of his roommates had told him about her.

He can also tell that Commander Rhapsodos is not there, the man and his fan club easily recognizable. He decides that it’s best to make another strategic retreat – going from the SOLDIER’s obsession with _Loveless_ , there’s a 50/50 chance that the man will appear at any second and Cloud really does not want to run into him. After everything that has happened so far that day, he has no desire to find out if the man expects him to remember something as well. Not to mention that, depending on the SOLDIER’s mood, Cloud would prefer not to play Dodge Fireball or listen to Rhapsodos quote _Loveless_ …

Hurrying out of Sector 8, he soon finds himself in Sector 7, somewhat surprised to find the plate attached and intact. Deciding that this must have something to do with what Reno had said earlier about the ‘plate thing’, Cloud does what he’s been doing passably well all day and ignores the strange feeling.

He’s not sure how long he’s been mindlessly exploring, when his stomach growls, demanding attention. Not wanting to return all the way to the Shinra Building for food and still not ready to deal with his roommates, Cloud decides to find someplace to eat on the plate. He winds up at a cheap Wutaian place, Reno obviously influencing him again. The food ends up being good, but it’s nothing life-changing, so he doesn’t think he found the place that the Turk had raved about. Then again, the Turks didn’t live on a cadet’s paycheck, so they could most likely afford something more expensive.

* * *

It’s late when he returns from his walk, tired but calmer than when he had left. He’s no closer to deciphering the day’s strange events, but has decided not to let it bother him anymore. What does it matter if he can’t remember whatever-it-is if Zack, Sephiroth, and Tseng had all assured him that everything was fine? He still feels a little uneasy around the Turk since he’s… well, a Turk, but even he seemed to be on his side, so it can’t be anything bad. Chalking it up to just a really strange day, he figures the next day has to be better. His luck can’t be that bad.

He makes it back to his room in the barracks in wonderful silence, nobody stopping him and Johnson blessedly absent. He also doesn’t see the red-eyed Turk – considering how the rest of the day has gone, this is a small miracle.

When he enters his room, however, he finds his roommates still awake and surprised to see him. Oh boy. Here we go.

“Where the heck have you been, man??” Garrett yells. Cloud decides he much prefers his ‘exuberance’ to Reno’s. “We half thought you had been kicked out!”

Cloud runs a hand through his hair and sighs, “Sorry. I took a walk on the plate.” He half wishes he was still out there. He likes his roommates, really he does, but he does not care for confrontations.

“What about class and patrol?” Logan asks, surprised and possibly a little affronted at the idea that Cloud would just abandon his responsibilities.

“The General gave me the rest of the day off.”

Their room is a bit of a simple arrangement – no luxuries for simple cadets. They each have their own bed, which is nice – no sharing a bunk. They also each have their own dresser, one in each corner of the room. But, other than that, the only other thing in the room is a single desk and chair that they share – Cloud has used it to write letters back home to his mom.

“You could have told us though, dude.” Garrett says from his spot standing in the middle of the room. Logan sits in the only chair, Colin on the edge of his bed. The red-head looks a little like a kicked dog as he continues, “We were worried. I know Fair said that you weren’t in trouble, man, but you seem to live up to that last name of yours.”

He isn’t wrong. ‘Strife’ seems to fit with all the trouble he gets into and that comes his way. Still, warmth floods through him at the fact that his friends were worried for him. It’s definitely a nice reminder that things here are a lot different from Nibelheim. Even if he doesn’t like worrying his friends.

“Oh, I…” Cloud sighs, frustrated. He trudges over to his bed, sitting down. “Things have just been so weird today and I’m soooo confused…” He finishes, running a hand through his hair.

Logan gives him an appraising look. “You were overwhelmed.” Garrett softens around the edges and Colin makes a noise of understanding.

Running a hand over his face, he responds. “Yeah, sorry. I just needed time to myself to try to think things through…” While not entirely successful, he was at least more prepared to tackle this conversation now.

Garrett looks more like a teddy bed now that his frustration and worry have abated some. “You feeling better now then?”

He nods his head. “Yeah, I think so.” For the most part, at least.

Garrett claps his hands and smiles, a little toothy, a determined look on his face as he continues. “Fantastic. Now, spill.”

“W-what?” He’s not winning any awards for his eloquence.

“Why did you start crying when you saw 1st Class Zack Fair and why did **he** look like you had strung the stars?”

“I-I… I don’t… I h-have no idea…” Cloud stutters embarrassed, face heating up. He realizes that this must be how Rude felt after asking about Tifa. He almost feels sorry for the Turk. Almost. He still doesn’t understand how he knows her, nor is he happy about it.

“Garrett.” Logan scolds. “Stop antagonizing him.”

Garrett scoffs, but then smirks. “Yes, mom.”

Logan sighs, rubbing his temples, but ignores the other teen. Instead, he turns to Cloud, leaning forward in the chair. “Why were you called to the General’s office?”

Before he can answer, Colin interrupts, eyes almost starry. “Yeah. What did Sephiroth want?” Sephiroth was an idol for most of the cadets. And the reason that most of them had decided to try for the SOLDIER program anyway.

He’s a little afraid to respond – he doesn’t want jealousy to ruin their friendship. They’re the only friends he has. Well, perhaps Zack, too, but 5 sounds better than 1 to him. “Well…” Cloud starts and then pauses to gather his thoughts. “Apparently, Sephiroth wants to train me personally.” He finishes, apprehension clear on his face.

The silence that follows is almost deafening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cloud's roommates were originally only going to be in the beginning to hint at the changes to the timeline, but I like the idea of Cloud have supportive friends.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear this is the last chapter for the first day. Things will continue after this.

“When I backed your plan to train Strife, I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon.” Rufus’s smooth voice cuts through the din in the conference room like a SOLDIER’s sword through Wererats. Though not addressing him directly, he stares at Sephiroth from his position at the head of the table, head cocked to the side, cheek resting on his fist.

After confirming that Cloud did indeed not remember, Sephiroth had called a meeting with everybody else. He sat on the president’s left, his fellow SOLDIERs on the same side of the table. Tseng, like always, was on Rufus’s right, Reno and Rude next to him with Vincent nowhere in sight. In the spot where he would have expected to see the red-eyed Turk, Reeve sat instead.

Sephiroth had been surprised when he first found out that Reeve remembered, only ever knowing him as the Director of Urban Planning. He had respected the man back then, being one of the only decent men high up Shinra’s ladder, but he didn’t see how the Director would be of any help with defeating Jenova or healing the planet. Of course, he then learned of Reeve’s involvement in the attempt to stop Meteorfall and later with the WRO and his doubts were quickly dismissed.

“Cloud does not remember.” Sephiroth responds, quick and to the point as usual. They needed to decide how to proceed from there. While he would have no trouble training the boy for now, destroying Jenova would be significantly easier if Cloud remembered. And if Sephiroth was unable to hold on to his sanity again, it would be better if Cloud did not view him as only his idol and mentor.

“And I hear a certain red-headed Turk almost revealed the Sector 7 plate collapse before checking if the boy actually remembered.” Genesis interjects from his spot next to Sephiroth, smirking at Reno sitting directly across from him.

Reno throws his hands in the air. “I thought he remembered, yo!” The red-head’s normal cocky pep was gone, replaced instead with a more solemn air. It would appear that Cloud not remembering affected him more than Sephiroth would have imagined.

“We both did,” Rude agrees with his partner, face a little red for some reason. Sephiroth vaguely wonders what happened during their interaction.

“I swore he remembered, too! I mean, he totally cried when he saw me!” Zack chimes in, looking a little down himself.

Genesis snorts and rolls his eyes, lounging in his chair with one leg crossed over the other. “I cry when I see you, too.” Sephiroth sighs internally – it would appear that the _Loveless_ -obsessed man wasn’t entirely done with his theatrics.

“Genesis.” Angeal says in warning, shooting the other SOLDIER a disapproving look. Zack leans over his former mentor to get a better look at the red-clad man and yells something that sounds like “How rude!!”

Genesis scoffs and waves a hand dismissively, but otherwise ignores his childhood friend. Instead, he turns his full attention on Zack before addressing the teen once more. “At least you don’t look like you’re about to cry yourself anymore.”

Angeal sighs, shaking his head while holding his temples. There is a slight smile on his face, though, so Sephiroth figures he’s probably thinking that Genesis has a strange way of showing his affection.

Zack looks confused for barely a second and then he’s beaming at Genesis. “You do like me!”

“That is **not** what I said!” Genesis looks mildly affronted, but Sephiroth thinks it’s just an act. The SOLDIER is just as fond of Angeal’s puppy as the rest of them are.

“Gentlemen,” Rufus interrupts, face still resting on his fist. “Shall we get back to the matter at hand?” Silence falls over the room as the president continues, “Are we even certain that Cloud will eventually remember?” That is definitely a sobering thought and one that Zack looks none too happy about.

“Why would the planet give us all our memories back but not her champion?” Reeve asks, a serious look on his face.

Genesis looks contemplative as he quotes, “ _Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess._ ”

While Sephiroth finds that he agrees with the sentiment, he would never tell Genesis. Especially not when it concerned _Loveless_.

“Perhaps the after-effects of Hojo’s _care_ the first time around still linger.”

If Sephiroth was anybody else, he might have jumped at the new voice. His fellow SOLDIERs certainly did. Looking up, he sees Vincent in the corner of the room, leaning against the wall, arms crossed in front of him. He’s a little disappointed in himself for not noticing the Turk sooner – he didn’t realize the man was that good at masking his presence.

While Reeve was the one who had asked the initial question, Sephiroth notices that Vincent’s attention is on him instead. Going from the almost imperceptible twitch of the Turk’s lips, he gets the feeling the man noticed his surprise and has gotten some enjoyment out of startling him.

Reeve hums a bit in thought, not bothered by Vincent at all – then again, the two had worked together before, so perhaps he was used to him. “That is plausible.” He says, lacing his hands together in front of him. “Even after Tifa helped restore his psyche, he still didn’t remember everything. There were some memories that he never got back. It is possible that it’ll take some time for the memories of his previous life to return.”

Zack bounces in his seat and adds, “Yeah, I only remembered a few weeks ago!” The teen had received the same ‘care’, as Vincent referred to it, so Sephiroth hopes that Cloud remembering was just delayed, too.

Reno clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “Blondie’s taking his good ol’ time again…”

Before Zack can do anything more than open his mouth in defense of his friend, Genesis is voicing his opinion again. “Honestly, I don’t see what all the fuss is about this little cadet.” He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms in front of his chest. “The last time I saw him, he wasn’t that impressive.”

“Genesis!” Angeal scolds once again, clearly not finding the other’s behavior that impressive himself.

Ignoring Zack’s cry of “He was mako-poisoned!”, Genesis turns to Angeal and continues, “What? It’s not like you knew him either.”

“No, but I trust Sephiroth and Zack. If they say that Strife is the only one who can defeat Sephiroth, then I believe them.”

Genesis scoffs, “Hmph. Fine.”

Sephiroth gets the feeling that Genesis is speaking out of jealousy, having never been able to beat him in a sparring match. Figuring it best not to provoke the other SOLDIER at this point, though, Sephiroth instead responds, “You’ll just have to see him in action.”

“Oh, I intend to.” Genesis counters, a determined glint in his eyes. If Sephiroth knows anything about the theatrically-inclined SOLDIER, he will probably insist on testing Cloud.

“How do we get Cloud to remember, then?” Rufus interjects, cutting off their arguing once more. The President’s face and voice are even, not appearing that bothered by the distractions. Then again, he was trained by the Turks and was therefore good at hiding his emotions, so there’s no saying what he was actually thinking.

Tseng speaks up for the first time, one gloved hand on top of the other on the table. “Zack and Strife were rather inseparable back then. Perhaps spending time together again will jog the boy’s memory.”

Zack nearly jumps out of his seat in excitement, clearly having no problem with this plan. “Yeah! I can totally do that! And I’m sure Aerith will help, too!” Zack pauses and then looks like he’s just had a revelation. “Ohh! I can ask her if she knows of any way to restore his memories, what with her being able to talk to the planet and everything.”

Rufus inclines his head slightly, “Very well. If that doesn’t work, though, we’ll have to figure something else out.”

Reeve sighs, “Must we always rely on Cloud for everything? I think he’s been through enough as-is.”

“Be that as it may, Reeve, if our General and Commanders are not immune to Jenova, we will need the appropriate backup plan. Unfortunately, Cloud Strife is that backup plan.” Rufus leans back in his chair and surveys the room’s occupants for a moment before continuing, “In the meantime, I plan to call in some experts from Cosmo Canyon to discuss how best to destroy the Calamity.”

Zack looks confused as he leans towards the President, “Why not talk to Aerith instead? She’s already in the city and I’m sure she could help.”

Rufus sighs and considers Zack for a moment. “While I have no doubt that Ms. Gainsborough could help, my company has already caused her enough pain and suffering. It was extremely generous of her to cure Genesis’s and Angeal’s degradation and to ease the Tsviets’ pain, helping them towards rehabilitation. I would prefer not to bother her again.” The president pauses for a moment, thinking, then turns to Sephiroth, “Any indication that Jenova is active?”

“No, sir. I would have felt something.”

Rufus looks relieved at the denial as he turns back to Zack. “Then we still have time. If I can’t get any answers from Cosmo Canyon, then I will ask Ms. Gainsborough for her assistance.”

* * *

“I didn’t know you were coming to see me!” Aerith beams up at him from her spot in her flower garden outside her house. They’ve been back together for a few weeks now (she had scolded him for taking so long), but Zack swears his heart skips a beat every time he sees her.

“Do I need a reason to visit my girl?” He returns, giving her his trademark grin. She’s tending to her yellow lilies, the ones that symbolize reunion – Zack thinks that that fits the two of them pretty well considering.

She smiles knowingly at him, “No, but your face says you have one.”

He grins sheepishly and rubs the back of his head, “Busted.” He sits down next to her and starts to run the fingers of one hand idly through the dirt. “Cloud doesn’t remember,” he finally says, staring absently into space.

“I miss him, too,” she responds, always so perceptive. They fall into a sad, but comfortable, silence for a few minutes, the only sound that of the waterfall in front of them.

Remembering the question he had wanted to ask, he turns to her, wiping his dirt-covered hand on his pants. “Can’t you ask the planet to help him remember?”

Putting her trowel down, Aerith turns to him, a sad smile on her face. “The planet already returned his memories to him. It might just take some time for everything to come together.”

“What do you mean?” He asks, confusion no doubt apparent on his face.

She taps a finger on her cheek, thinking. “Imagine Cloud’s mind is a puzzle. The puzzle pieces are all there, but they all haven’t fallen into place yet.” Zack nods thoughtfully – that makes sense.

“Not that I’m complaining, but why do we remember anyway?” Definitely not complaining. He’s glad for the chance to avoid everything that had gone wrong the first time.

Aerith’s face scrunches up, as if the question or its answer brought her pain. “After everything with Sephiroth and Jenova, the planet was dying. Even with the efforts of everybody and everything the WRO did, the damage was just too great. Gaia decided its only course of action was to reverse time and return memories to those it thought would be best able to protect it. With some exceptions, these people are the ones who were trying to save it the first time around.”

Zack initially looks alarmed at her explanation, but then so, so confused. “But why let Sephiroth remember when he was the one who almost destroyed the planet in the first place?”

“Gaia recognizes that Jenova was the catalyst behind Sephiroth’s fall from grace.” Zack grimaces at her words – what a fall from grace that was. “It also acknowledges the extent of Jenova’s ability to influence him. The best way to avoid him falling into her clutches again was to provide him the means to fight her influence. The same holds true for Angeal and Genesis.”

Zack’s mouth falls open at that. “Can Jenova control them, too?” Sephiroth had mentioned the possibility. Watching the General fall to Jenova was bad enough. He didn’t know if he could handle the same happening to Angeal.

Aerith shrugs, “It’s possible, but there’s no way to know for sure without trying.” She chuckles and grins at him wryly. “We should probably avoid that, though.”

“Yeah, definitely,” he agrees, running a hand through his hair. “That’s more or less what Sephiroth said. He’s going to train Cloud so Spike’s ready if he loses it again.”

Aerith looks at him for a long moment, eyes twinkling mischievously. “Cloud, Cloud, Cloud.” She half-sings. “That’s all you’ve talked about since coming to see me! Should I be afraid that you’re going to leave me for him?”

Zack feels his entire face go red as he tries (and fails) to find something to say.

“You’re not denying it!” She laughs.

“W-wait! How do I know it won’t be **you** leaving me for Cloud?” He finally manages to stutter out, his face still reminiscent of a certain Turk’s hair.

Aerith brings a hand up to her face, thinking. The fact that the mischievous look is still on her face makes Zack dread whatever’s about to come out of her mouth. “I’m open to having Cloud join us,” she says, smiling widely.

“Aerith!”

* * *

“Apparently, Sephiroth wants to train me personally.”

The silence that follows is almost deafening. The shocked looks on their faces would almost be funny if Cloud wasn’t so afraid of losing their friendship.

Colin’s mouth opens and shuts several times, no sound coming out, looking distinctly like a fish out of water. Logan, on the other hand, manages to choke out a stilted, “W-what?” before Garrett steals the conversation again.

“He what!!!” He shouts and Cloud is afraid that the rest of the floor will be able to hear him.

Cloud shrinks in on himself. “He said that I would no longer participate in normal training and that he would be taking over my training personally.” If the metal floor could swallow him now, he would totally let it.

“H-he wants to take over your training personally…” Colin repeats dazed, clearly still absorbing the information and not completely believing his ears.

In the next moment, Garrett is back full force. “How did you get so lucky, man???” He waves a hand up and down in Cloud’s direction, disbelief and awe clearly on his face.

“I’m so jealous,” Logan adds, still in a state of shock. “Gaia…” he exhales, a little breathlessly.

“I can’t believe this…” Colin says, starry-eyed. “Sephiroth has never taken a student before.” Commander Hewley was the only one of the Golden Trio who had, Commander Rhapsodos too volatile and General Sephiroth too unattainable.

“Wow…” Garrett breathes out, quiet for once. He then notices the look on Cloud’s face and softens, “Hey, I’m not mad at you, man. This is great. Can’t say I don’t wish it was me, but I’m happy for you.” He shakes his head slowly as if only half-believing what was happening. “Wow…” He repeats again, quieter as if only meant for himself.

“Yeah, Cloud, we wouldn’t be mad about this.” Colin says, still starry-eyed. “We’re just surprised is all.” Logan nods in agreement. Cloud relaxes at that – one less thing for him to worry about. Now if only he could figure out what the heck has been going on all day.

“I’m so proud of you!” Garrett says, back to his boisterous volume, going over to ruffle Cloud’s hair. “Our little Cloudy is all grown up.” He continues, fake sniffing. If he had a handkerchief, he would no doubt pretend to blow his nose.

Cloud huffs and fixes an entirely unimpressed look on the teen – he had called him ‘little’ again. “The height jokes are getting rather old…”

Garrett just laughs in response. “But seriously, dude, I’m really happy for you.” He says with a smile and Cloud offers his own in return. “Not that I doubt your skill or anything, but did he say why he wants to train you?”

Cloud sighs, running a hand through his spikes. “That’s where it starts making even less sense. He said something like I was the only one who could ‘stop him’.” He says, air-quoting the end.

“Stop him? What does that mean?” Colin asks, brow furrowed. Cloud thinks that that’s probably how he’s looked at least half of that day alone.

“Something about stopping him from losing himself. Like that makes any sense either, though…” He sighs again – he’s been doing that a lot lately.

“Uh…” Garrett starts, looking just as confused as the rest of them. He doesn’t continue, though, as if that was the extent of his train of thought.

“Yup. Now you know how I have felt. All. Day.” He grits out, a little bitter. “And to top it all off, everybody and their brother keeps asking me if I remember!” He yells – thankfully not as loud as Garrett – and throws his hands into the air.

“Remember what, dude?” Logan asks. Now, wasn’t that the million-gil question.

He groans, feeling his frustration rise again. “Heck if I know. Just everybody that I’ve run into today has commented on my lack of remembering something. But when I ask, nobody tells me what it is that I’ve forgotten. Zack, Sephiroth, and now three Turks to top it all off!”

“T-turks?” Colin sputters out. “Just what did you do??”

He tugs at his hair. “I don’t know! That’s the thing!” They look as confused as he’s felt all day. “But Zack, Sephiroth, and Tseng all said that there was nothing to worry about, so I guess it wasn’t anything bad? It at least sounds like the Turks won’t be making me disappear any time soon…” Though, that wasn’t much consolation at the moment. He would rather know exactly what they expected him to remember.

“Tseng? Of the Turks?” Logan asks, eyes about as wide as Colin’s. “As in Tseng, second-in-command of the Turks?”

“I guess?” He says, shrugging. “Guess it would make sense why Reno and Rude referred to him as ‘Boss-man’.”

“Wait – Reno, too?” Garrett says, sounding as surprised as the others look. He points a finger at Cloud and continues, “You’re friends with both the second and third-in-command of the Turks?” It figures the red-head, who seemed like the most trouble of the three, would be so high up the ladder. Great. Just great.

“Not friends. We’re barely acquaintances. I just ran into them in the lobby.” More like was accosted by them, but he’s not going to mention that.

“Riiiiight.” Garrett says, stretching out the word, clearing not believing him. “Just random strangers coming up to you asking if you remember them.”

“That is literally what has been happening to me all day…” And Cloud’s tired of it. And _so_ confused.

Garrett’s back to smiling again, mischievously this time. “Just promise me one thing. If I ever get into trouble, please have one of your new important friends save me.”

Cloud shakes his head, smiling in spite of himself. “I make no promises.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter might be a couple days late (not sure if I will have a reliable source of internet next week), but the following should be on time.

Cloud’s training starts in earnest the next day. His sleep the night before had been gloriously, miraculously dreamless. Left with only some lingering confusion, he feels about as ready as he possibly can to tackle this new, strange turn of events.

He grabs a light breakfast in the cadet cafeteria, his fellow cadets still wonderfully ignorant of his unexpected windfall. He idly wonders how long it will remain that way, already fearing Johnson’s no-doubt violent reaction. The teen had delusions of grandeur, to put it mildly, and would brag to any cadet unfortunate enough about how he would be the first to become General Sephiroth’s student – wonderful and amazing as he was. Cloud is surprised he hasn’t done any lasting damage to himself from how hard he rolls his eyes at that memory. If Johnson was jealous of Cloud before, he would be close to murderous now.

Breakfast finished and nerves starting to return, he arrives at the General’s office with 10 minutes to spare. He’s not entirely sure how long he stands outside, arm suspended in the air, unable to bring himself to knock, when an amused voice comes from the other side of the door. “ _Cloud_ , feel free to enter whenever you’re ready.”

Blushing slightly at being caught, Cloud enters the office and crosses to the middle of the room. He hadn’t realized that the SOLDIER’s senses were that good. Sephiroth glances up at him briefly, then returns his attention to his paperwork. “My apologies. I will be finished with this shortly. Feel free to make yourself comfortable.” He knew the man was busy, being the leader of Shinra’s army and everything, but he never realized how much paperwork it all entailed.

“Yes, sir.” Cloud slides into the chair in front of the General’s desk, silently logging away the pleased expression on the man’s face at the fact that he was early. With Sephiroth otherwise occupied, he takes the chance to look around the office, having been too confused and, frankly, too awestruck the previous day to have catalogued anything.

The desk itself is obviously very high-grade and is angled on both ends to almost give the appearance of a ‘U’. There is a computer on the right end of the desk, all of Sephiroth’s paperwork in the middle, and a phone on the left. An inkwell sits to the man’s left and Cloud realizes that he’s writing with a quill. Fancy.

Both the General’s chair and the one that Cloud sits in are made of leather. Luckily, though, unlike the other’s high-back one, Cloud’s chair does not swivel. He doesn’t need to make more of a fool of himself by spinning the chair back and forth with his nervous fidgeting.

Behind the SOLDIER, he notices two small, potted trees – one in each corner of the room. “A gift from Angeal,” Sephiroth’s voice interrupts his investigation. Having finished his paperwork, the man must have realized where Cloud’s attention had strayed to. “Something about honing my spirit and honor.”

“Oh. Does it work?”

“No idea. I only kept them because Genesis hates them.” The smirk on the General’s face causes Cloud’s to heat up again. Who knew Sephiroth had a mischievous side? Shinra’s propaganda had only ever showed the man’s emotionless, war-ready one.

* * *

When they reach the SOLDIER training grounds, there are some other SOLDIERs there. Sephiroth had already mentioned that Zack had an emergency mission to the Chocobo Farm to take care of a rogue Zolom, so Cloud doesn’t even bother looking for the other teen. He’s a little disappointed, though. He had hoped to see him again today – he guesses it would have to wait a few days.

Sephiroth had said that today would be spent running Cloud through his paces. This way he could determine what areas needed the most work. As a result, Cloud had been excused from afternoon classes for the day.

To begin with, Sephiroth starts him off with several laps around the training grounds. The other SOLDIERs are definitely as surprised to see him there as the cadet is himself. Luckily, since they saw him come in with Sephiroth, they don’t say anything. Then again, since it was **Sephiroth** he had come in with, perhaps that’s why they were staring so much – the situation was definitely very surreal.

He’s sweaty and out of breath when he finishes, but he still feels that he has performed pretty well regardless. The General at least doesn’t look disappointed with his performance as he directs Cloud to take a break and get some water.

Next, Sephiroth drills him through his katas – with and without a weapon. Cloud’s drill sergeant – former drill sergeant, rather – had always told him that a one-handed sword would be better for his height and build. He goes for a two-handed one, anyway – it just feels right. Going from the approving look on the General’s face, he feels he made the right choice.

Several hours into training, Cloud’s stomach announces its emptiness, loudly. Ignoring his mortification, Sephiroth insists they get lunch. Together. When they enter the SOLDIER cafeteria, the room immediately goes quiet. From the staring, Cloud gets the feeling that Sephiroth doesn’t come here often, if at all. For the second time in two days, he wishes the floor could swallow him whole.

* * *

“Your endurance is respectable for someone unenhanced, but we will still work to improve it.” Sephiroth tells him after they have finished for the day. “You seem to have a good grasp on technique, but your footwork could use some work.” The man finishes, studying him closely.

“Sorry, sir.” The General didn’t appear disappointed or mad, but Cloud hadn’t been able to shake the unrealistic hope that he would have impressed him.

**_“On your knees. I want you to beg for forgiveness.”_ **

Cloud sighs inwardly. After several wonderful, voice-free hours, he had really started to believe that that was the end of it. Apparently not. Before he can dwell more on it, though, Sephiroth is talking again.

“There is no need to apologize, Cloud. The entire point of training today was to see what needs improvement.” The General regards him for a long moment before continuing, “I would like to test your skill with materia tomorrow.”

“Uh… I’ve never used materia before, sir.” He admits sheepishly – they hadn’t gotten to that yet in general training.

If Sephiroth is upset, he doesn’t show it. “That’s fine. I’m not expecting you to be a master right away. That’s what the training is for.”

* * *

When he enters the cadet cafeteria that evening, he quickly realizes that word of Sephiroth’s new student has gotten out. Crap. As if the silence and staring wasn’t enough (honestly, it was worse than the SOLDIER cafeteria), the look on Johnson’s face across the room tells him that he will be in for more than a world of hurt if the cadet ever gets his hands on him.

As if sensing Johnson’s ire, Logan is at his side in a heartbeat, wordlessly protecting him as he gets food and then leading him to the table that Garrett and Colin are still sitting at. Cloud figures they probably sent Logan since Garrett was… well, Garrett.

Speaking of Garrett, the teen barely waits for Cloud to sit down before he’s smirking and running his mouth. “So… word in the building is you have a new lunch buddy.”

Cloud definitely blushes down to his neck at that. How did they even know about that?? “I-I told him no! He wouldn’t listen to me!” Not that General Sephiroth should listen to a lowly cadet like him, but still.

Colin – sweet Colin – laughs at his face. “Can’t say I’m not jealous.”

“Oh, definitely jealous,” Logan adds, looking just as amused.

Garrett snorts. “Of course we’re jealous, man! Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to have lunch with the great General Sephiroth??” Seeing the embarrassed look still on Cloud’s face, he winks. “Well, other than you. Weirdo.”

Cloud just rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out at the other teen.

If anything, Garrett’s smirk grows. “But honestly, our street cred is going to go through the roof, being your friend and all.” Cloud scoffs, but that’s not enough to stop the red-head. “And I wouldn’t say no to being your plus 1 the next time you two eat together.”

“There won’t be a next time.” He says with finality, hoping beyond hope that that’s true. He really doesn’t need to be the constant talk of the building.

“Gotta say, Johnson’s reaction was **priceless**.” Logan grins, eyes twinkling mischievously. “I thought he was going to catch fire with how red he was getting.” Well, that doesn’t sound too good for Cloud.

Garrett laughs hard at the memory, wiping tears from his eyes. “Oh boy, he was **furious**. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that mad. So much for him being Sephiroth’s student.”

Colin curses quite unexpectedly then, drawing their attention. “He’s coming this way!” He warns, a nervous look on his face. As if he had sensed them talking about him, Johnson was indeed stomping his way over to their table, gaze intent on Cloud. All four of them tense, preparing for the coming confrontation.

Johnson stops directly across from Cloud, slamming his hands down on the table in front of him. “Better watch yourself, Chocobo-butt.” He snarls, face twisted in pure rage. “I don’t know what you did to Fair and Sephiroth, but I know who you really are.” Sneering, the teen continues, “You’re **nothing**. Just a loser who will never amount to anything.”

Cloud clenches his fists, ignoring the slight pain from his nails digging into flesh. While he might not entirely disagree with the ‘loser’ thing, heck if he would let the other teen know. Instead, he glares back at Johnson. He’s tempted to tell his bully that he’s just jealous, but that would just set the teen off more. Cloud knows this from personal experience – the worst of which had left him with broken ribs and bruises all over. The healer definitely didn’t believe him when he said that he had just fallen down the stairs, asking him several times if he was sure that was really what had happened. He gets the feeling that she couldn’t do anything since he never confessed, but tattling had never stopped the bullying in Nibelheim. If anything, it just made things worse – none of the adults had any interest in his personal safety and would never have paid attention to him or his mother anyway.

Eyes narrowing, Johnson leans in further. “Don’t worry. They’ll see you for who you are soon enough.”

Having heard enough, Garrett and Logan shoot out of their seats and shove Johnson back, Colin glaring at the bully from his spot at the table. “Back off, Johnson!” Garrett yells while Logan adds his own “Yeah, leave him alone!”. While he had never told his roommates the extent of the injuries he had received from Johnson, they seemed to know anyway and tried to keep him out of harm’s way whenever they could.

Johnson laughs cruelly, beady eyes still trained on Cloud. “You better hope your little friends are always around to protect you.” Leveling one last glare in his direction, Johnson turns and leaves the cafeteria.

Cloud slumps back in his seat, his still balled fists shaking. This was bad. Really bad.

* * *

All three of his roommates have patrol that evening, Cloud tomorrow evening. Even though they already have their helmets and rifles, having brought them to the cafeteria with them, they insist on walking him back to their room in case Johnson is still lurking around. He tries to apologize for being trouble, but they won’t hear it.

Once alone, Cloud realizes that he has a missed call – his PHS a gift from his mom when he left home. Even though he calls her regularly, he still writes her letters every now and then – she says that she likes having something tangible, something that she can hold and re-read whenever she misses her son.

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, he stares at the screen of his PHS in confusion – the number is not one he recognizes. Dialing his voicemail, he nearly drops the PHS when the recorded voice starts talking.

_“Hi Cloud. It’s Tifa. Call me back when you have the chance.”_

Tifa? How did she get his number? More importantly, why was she calling him? Her dad definitely did not like him. Deciding he’s not going to figure anything out just sitting there staring at his PHS, he dials Tifa’s number with slightly trembling fingers, suddenly glad that he’s alone.

_“Cloud! You actually called!”_ Tifa’s happy voice comes from the other end.

“Uh… you asked me to?” And he has no idea why.

She laughs, light and sweet. _“So I did.”_

“Why are you calling, though? You know your dad doesn’t want you talking to me.” It didn’t make sense. Yes, Tifa had tried to talk to him a few times since her accident – the one he was blamed for and that he blamed himself for – and had even met him on top of the water tower that night he told her he was leaving for Midgar. However, if her father found out that not only did she have his number but was calling him, he would be furious.

There is a long pause on the other end before Tifa responds. _“Cloud… Do you not remember?”_

Cloud sighs – not again. “You too, Tifa? Why does everybody keep asking that?”

_”I’m sorry, Cloud. I don’t think I can say. I’m sure you’ll understand soon enough.”_ What did that even mean?

**_“Dilly-dally, shilly-shally.”_ **

“I’m not dilly-dallying.” He says, a little petulantly.

_“Cloud…”_ Tifa’s voice sounds confused. _“I didn’t say anything.”_

Oh. Well, crap. He sighs again, running his free hand through his hair. “Sorry, Tifa. The past couple days have just been really weird and I have no idea what’s going on…”

_“It’s ok, Cloud. If you need somebody to talk to, I’m always here for you.”_ The warmth in her voice sends butterflies to his stomach. Part of his reason for trying to join SOLDIER had been to impress her.

Speaking of SOLDIERs and impressive… “I actually do have something to tell you. Sephiroth decided to take me on as his student. Said he wants to help me prepare for the SOLDIER exam. Can you believe it?” He’s not sure whether there is wonder or confusion in his tone, but figures it doesn’t really matter.

_”S-Sephiroth?”_ Cloud’s not really sure why her voice sounds so frightened.

“Yeah. He’s a nice man, Tifa.” Maybe that would help calm her fears.

_”… a nice man…”_ Her voice is quiet and she sounds a little dazed, as if she doesn’t even realize that she’s speaking out loud. There’s silence on the other line for a few moments, before she’s speaking again, voice more serious this time. _“Wait. You said that everybody keeps asking if you remember. Was Sephiroth one of them?”_

“Yeah.”

_”Did he say why?”_ Tifa’s voice is still serious, but with a bit of an edge to it this time.

He’s a little more reluctant to tell her than his roommates, but this is Tifa. She would never make fun of him nor would she tell anybody – not that anybody in Nibelheim would believe it anyway. “He said something about how I was the only person who could stop him from losing himself.”

There is another pregnant pause and then Tifa sighs. _“Alright. Just be careful, ok? I care about you.”_ Her last sentence ringing through his head, he’s really glad nobody’s around to see how red his face is. _“Who all has asked you if you remember?”_

“Uh… Sephiroth, another SOLDIER named Zack, and three Turks.” His eyes go wide – that’s right, Turks. “Hey, do you know somebody named Rude?”

_“Rude?”_ She sounds a little surprised.

“Yeah. He wanted to know how you were.”

She giggles. _“Rude is an old friend.”_

Ok, he really didn’t like that reaction. And old friend? What? “Old friend? Tifa, you’re 13 years old.” He huffs, remembering how the Turk had blushed. “He was acting like a lovesick puppy. I told him to back off.”

She giggles again. _“My hero.”_

* * *

Upon entering the SOLDIER training grounds the next day, Sephiroth leads Cloud to an area where there are three dummies set up. An area that is removed from where the other SOLDIERs are training. Cloud figures this is in case he messes something up – they don’t need him accidentally flinging spells at anybody.

Turning to face him, Sephiroth hands him a glowing, green orb – Cloud swears he doesn’t shiver when the man’s fingers brush his own. “Fire materia. We’ll practice with this first.” The General then pulls out another orb of materia. This one glows for a second, then orange spheres surround each of the dummies. The spheres break into tiny pieces almost immediately, leaving behind blue ribbons of light circling said dummies. “Manaward – reduces damage from magic attacks,” Sephiroth explains.

Cloud looks dumbly at the orb of materia in his hands for a moment, before looking back at the General. “How do I use this, sir?”

“Magic is triggered by a shock wave created by your mind.” Uh, what? Shock waves? Sephiroth sounds like he’s quoting a textbook.

Somebody scoffs from behind them. “Shock waves? Really, Sephiroth?” Turning, Cloud sees none other than Commander Genesis Rhapsodos approaching, his red leather coat billowing behind him.

Sephiroth sighs. “To what do I owe the honor, Genesis?”

“I heard you were going to train your little cadet in magic today. I told you before that I intend to watch him in action.” Commander Rhapsodos responds as if it was obvious.

“Uh… I’ve never used materia before, sir.” Cloud manages to get out through his confusion at the appearance of the fiery man. The SOLDIER wanted to watch him? Why does nothing make sense anymore?

Rhapsodos regards – assesses? – him for a long moment before closing the distance between them. He grabs the materia out of Cloud’s hand, rolls it around for a second, then starts speaking again, eyes never leaving Cloud. “You need to use your own energy, your spirit, to power materia.” He turns towards the dummies. “First, you need to feed your energy into the materia.” The orb in Rhapsodos’s hands starts to glow. “Once you’ve built up enough power, you release it.” The SOLDIER extends his free hand and a small fireball shoots forth and hits the middle dummy, barely singeing it with the manaward Sephiroth had cast earlier. Turning back to him, Rhapsodos returns the materia. “There, magic.”

Cloud stares at the materia in his hand for a second before closing his fingers around it and turning to face the dummies, hoping that he would be able to recreate what Rhapsodos had just done. He gets the feeling that the SOLDIER is here to test him.

Feed his energy into it, huh? He closes his eyes and tries to imagine his energy going from his body into the materia. When the orb starts to warm up in his hand, he feels like he must be doing something right. The feeling of his energy flowing into the materia is familiar, as if his body instinctively knows what to do. With every passing second, the orb grows warmer and warmer. He’s just wondering how much energy is enough, when Sephiroth’s worried voice breaks through his musings.

“Cloud! Release the energy!”

Eyes snapping open, Cloud barely manages to throw his free hand out before the force of the magic ripping through him knocks him to the ground, the materia rolling across the ground away from him. There is a loud boom and he looks on in horror as the three dummies are engulfed in flames, the manaward doing little to save them from their fiery fate.

Rhapsodos looks at the scene in complete shock before turning wide eyes on Cloud, still sprawled on the ground. “ _Infinite in mystery_ , indeed…” He remarks in a daze.

“I told you so,” Sephiroth says, sounding smug.

Rhapsodos’s attention is on Sephiroth in the next second, eyes blazing and body practically vibrating with excitement. “I **have** to train him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- My thoughts are that Cloud retained his magical ability since that's dependent on mind/spirit.  
> \- I kinda feel bad for Tifa... didn't stop me from laughing while writing that scene, though.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have internet, so this chapter is on time :)

“I **have** to train him.”

Sephiroth sighs and crosses his arms in front of him. “Genesis, Cloud is my student. Get your own.” Two top SOLDIERs fighting over him? This sounds like another one of Cloud’s fantasies.

Commander Rhapsodos does not back down. If anything, he becomes more insistent. “Sephiroth. I am the Red Mage of Shinra. You can teach him all about swordsmanship and being socially awkward, but magic is **my** thing.”

Sephiroth stares hard at Rhapsodos, the other SOLDIER not breaking eye contact. Cloud looks back and forth between the two, not entirely sure what’s happening. The unspoken challenge lasts for several long moments, then the General sighs again and the tension is broken. “Very well,” he concedes as he goes to retrieve the forgotten materia. Straightening back up, he lets out a laugh, looking at a point somewhere behind Cloud. “Looks like we’re not the only ones impressed with your performance, _Cloud_.”

Startled, Cloud spins around and sees a sight he wishes he hadn’t. All the other SOLDIERs in the training grounds are staring at them. Staring at the still burning dummies. Staring at **him**. He sighs. So much for not being the constant talk of the building.

Turning back around, Cloud sees Sephiroth pull out another orb of materia. Unlike the previous two, this one creates a stream of water that extinguishes the flaming dummies – charred beyond recognition, they are somehow still standing.

Returning his attention to Cloud, whose shock has him still sprawled on the ground, Sephiroth smirks. “Though, perhaps try using less power next time.” He crosses to Cloud and pulls the cadet to his feet, Cloud offering a weak “T-thanks” in return.

“I shall bid you farewell for today, _Cloud_.” Sephiroth says as he turns and exits the training grounds. Cloud thinks he’s gotten better at hiding his reaction to the man’s voice, but from the look on Rhapsodos’s face, he doesn’t believe the other SOLDIER missed it, sharp-eyed as he is. He just hopes Sephiroth didn’t notice.

* * *

The next few hours are spent in a similar manner – luckily, though, Cloud causes no more explosions. Rhapsodos is a very attentive teacher and easily guides him through best practices. The SOLDIER shows him how to limit the amount of energy he gives to the materia, how to intuitively know just how much energy is enough to get the results he wants.

They start with basic attack materia – fire, ice, and lightning. Cloud works until he can produce the smallest manifestation of each – a sign that he has learned control.

When Rhapsodos is satisfied with his progress, he gives him a calculating look and then passes over a small bottle. “Here. Ether, drink up. It’ll restore your magic power.” Cloud does as instructed, marveling at the warmth that floods through his body, a slight hint of caramel left in his mouth.

“You have already far exceeded my expectations, little bird.” Blushing at the praise, Cloud doesn’t have it in him to be annoyed at the new nickname. “However, I would like to try one last thing today.” As he says that, Rhapsodos hands him another orb of materia – red this time. “Summon materia. This will be more difficult than anything else that we’ve done today, it will require a great deal of energy to use.” At the alarmed look on Cloud’s face, the SOLDIER smiles. “Don’t worry, little bird. I will make sure that you do not overexert yourself.”

Cloud nods a little nervously. “Ok, sir.” While he’s not at all confident in himself, Rhapsodos appears to be. The man would not have given him the summon materia otherwise.

Wondering idly what kind of summon is housed within, Cloud starts to feed his energy into the materia. Rhapsodos wasn’t lying – this does require a lot of energy. He’s fed far more energy into the orb than with any of the others and it still needs more. After what seems like an eternity, he feels the distinctive buzz signaling the materia has received enough power. Surprisingly, he doesn’t feel tired – a sign of overuse, the SOLDIER had said.

Rhapsodos is at his side in a second, one hand on his shoulder. “Wonderful, Cloud. Release the energy.” The man says, voice soft and almost… reverent?

Cloud releases his hold on the energy and is almost knocked onto the ground again from his complete and utter surprise. A storm cloud has formed above them and from it appears a large, grey dragon. Cloud watches with wide, disbelieving eyes as the dragon slowly descends until it is hovering directly in front of them.

He can only stare, mouth agape, shock clearly plastered all over his face as the dragon silently regards him. Rhapsodos leans in, hand still on his shoulder. “Bahamut. King of the Dragons.” When Cloud still doesn’t say anything, he continues, “He’s waiting for your command. Go ahead and dismiss him.”

Dismiss him? How does he do that? “You can go now.” Cloud says, hoping that’s good enough. The dragon doesn’t move, though, still staring at him. “Uh… or however I get rid of you.” He tries again, waving a hand as if shooing a fly, but Bahamut still hovers, proud and attentive, in front of him.

Rhapsodos chuckles softly at him. “Command him with your mind. It was your spirit that summoned him. Use your spirit to dismiss him.”

Cloud takes a deep breath and tries to figure out what the SOLDIER means. Remembering the feeling of summoning (and of casting in general), he almost feels like there’s still some sort of connection there between his mind and the summon. Trying to break that connection, he’s surprised when, in the next second, the dragon dematerializes along with the storm cloud it came from.

Rhapsodos finally removes his hand from Cloud’s shoulder, turning to face him instead. “I hate to admit it, but Sephiroth was right. You are amazing, Cloud.”

Cloud thinks he should just get used to his face being a permanent shade of red. “T-thank you, sir.” While he doesn’t exactly agree with Rhapsodos’s assessment, he’s not going to contradict him.

As Rhapsodos takes the summon materia back, Cloud uses the opportunity to observe the man. The Commander definitely cuts quite the figure – something that Cloud has heard he is very proud of. The man has short auburn hair, the usual mako blue eyes, and a single dangling, silver earring in his right ear. He wears the usual black 1st Class SOLDIER uniform, but covers it with a red leather coat and black pauldrons.

As if sensing the scrutiny, the Commander’s eyes are on him again. “Like what you see?” Rhapsodos asks, smirking.

Blushing for who knows what time that day and definitely not about to answer the SOLDIER’s question, not that he has any idea what his answer would be, Cloud blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. “N-no. It’s just, training with you isn’t what I thought it would be.” Crap. Wrong thing to say.

Rhapsodos raises an elegant eyebrow, “Oh? Do elaborate.”

Cloud fidgets in place, trying to find a way out of the situation. He doesn’t want to offend the fiery man. “Uh. I-it’s nothing, sir. Please forget I said anything.”

The SOLDIER definitely does not forget, though, continuing to look at him like he’s prey caught in a trap. “Oh, no. I _insist_.”

Cloud rubs the back of his head sheepishly as he prepares to tell the truth. He’s pretty sure Rhapsodos would be able to tell if he was lying. “I-I had always thought that training with you would be like playing Dodge Fireball.” That’s at least how all the other cadets had described it. Not that they had ever trained with him, but still.

Rhapsodos looks thoughtful for a moment. If he’s angry, he doesn’t show it. “ _There is no hate, only joy. For you are beloved by the Goddess._ ” At Cloud’s blank look, he elaborates, “You’re gifted, Cloud. Dodge Fireball is only for incompetent fools.” He finishes with a wink.

Before Cloud can look too much into the praise, Rhapsodos is talking again, “We should have plenty of time to get lunch before your classes this afternoon.”

“We, sir?” Cloud ask dumbly. He can’t possibly mean together.

The SOLDIER gives him a haughty look. “Oh, you can have lunch with Sephiroth, but not me?” Apparently, he can mean together.

Embarrassed again, he stutters out, “I-it’s not that, sir. Just… people will talk.”

Rhapsodos just laughs and shakes his head. “Oh, Cloud. You blew up three training dummies and summoned Bahamut. People are already talking.”

* * *

“Thank you for calling Shinra Electric Power Company, the source for all your energy needs. How may I direct your call today?”

_“Hello. May I speak with Tseng of the Turks, please?”_ A feminine voice asks from the other end.

“I’m sorry. Mr. Tseng is a very busy man.” Heather nearly sighs. This honestly isn’t the first time she’s fielded a call like this. Though, normally, they’re asking for the President or one of the Directors, claiming that they are _oh so important_ and _how have you not heard of me before_. Nobody’s asked for a Turk before.

_“Tseng is an old friend, ma’am. He’ll talk to me.”_

Heather does sigh that time. Old friend? Here we go. Not to mention that the person on the other side sounds like a child. Before she can respond, though, the woman – girl? – is talking again.

_“Can you please tell him that Tifa Lockhart is calling for him?”_

Heather hesitates for a long moment. This Lockhart lady is very polite and something about her seems trustworthy. Not to mention she doesn’t really want to find out what would happen if she hung up now and it turned out that the girl actually did know Mr. Tseng.

“Can you hold, please?”

_“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”_ Ms. Lockhart responds.

Dialing the number for the Turk, she really hopes Ms. Lockhart was telling the truth as strange as it seemed.

_“Tseng speaking.”_

“Hello, Mr. Tseng. This is Heather from Reception. There is a Tifa Lockhart on the phone, says she knows you.”

_“Ms. Lockhart? Put her through.”_

* * *

Tifa had not been pleased to find out that Sephiroth was training Cloud, even less so to learn that the lunatic remembered. She needed answers and since Cloud didn’t remember, she would have to look elsewhere. Cloud had said that three Turks remembered – Tseng was most likely one of them. That was how she ended up calling Shinra Reception that afternoon.

“Can you please tell him that Tifa Lockhart is calling for him?” She was hoping this worked. She didn’t know the Turk’s number anymore and didn’t know of any other way to contact him outside of going to Midgar. And no way would her dad let her go to Midgar by herself at the age of 13.

_“Can you hold, please?”_

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

She waits in silence for a few minutes, then hears the telltale sound of being taken off hold. _”Ms. Lockhart. What a pleasure to hear from you.”_

Tifa giggles. “Tseng. As polite as always.”

_“To what do I owe this pleasure?”_

“Cloud doesn’t remember.” No use beating around the bush.

_“I am aware.”_

“Sephiroth does.” She’s not sure if she’s successful at keeping all the vitriol out of her tone.

Tseng sighs. _“That is also correct.”_

“Why is he training Cloud, Tseng? What is his plan?” Apparently, Sephiroth had said it was to stop him from losing himself, but she wasn’t going to take that at face value. Not from Sephiroth. Not after everything he had done. Everything he had destroyed.

_“I am sorry for the suffering Sephiroth caused you and Cloud. I would venture to say that he is as well.”_ Tifa can’t help the scoff that passes her lips. Sorry didn’t fix things. Didn’t unburn Nibelheim. Wouldn’t stop the nightmares that she still had. _“Sephiroth’s actions weren’t entirely his own. Jenova found a way to worm herself in and gain control of him. I can tell you he regrets his actions. He has no intention of repeating past mistakes, but he can’t say for certain that he’s immune to Jenova’s influence. He’s training Cloud now to be ready in case he is unable to resist again.”_

Tifa sighs long and hard. “I won’t lie, Tseng. I don’t like this. But… fine. I’m training with Master Zangan again. When we need to take care of Jenova, I’ll be ready.” She would leave it alone for now – she had seen what it was like for Cloud when Jenova had taken control of his actions, had forced him to hand over the black materia. It still wouldn’t stop her from being wary of Sephiroth. And it definitely wouldn’t stop her from introducing his face to her boot if he made even the slightest misstep.

_“You have my sincerest apologies that we always have to rely on you and Cloud.”_

She huffs a laugh. “I guess I’m used to it by now.” Remembering something else, she smiles. Might as well get something useful out of this conversation. “Well, since I have you on the phone – do you happen to have Aerith’s number?”

* * *

Lunch with Commander Rhapsodos was just as strange as lunch with Sephiroth. It didn’t help that the other SOLDIERs in the cafeteria stared just as much. Though, Cloud’s not sure if that had more to do with who he was eating with or because of what had happened at the training grounds earlier that day.

After lunch, his classes pass without incident, Johnson thankfully not present. He could have gone without all the whispering, but he’ll take what he can get. He grabs a quick dinner with his roommates, who tease him just as mercilessly for having lunch with Commander Rhapsodos as they had with Sephiroth. Afterwards, he stops by his room in the barracks for his helmet and rifle. Luckily, there is no one else around and Cloud makes it back to the elevator and down to the third floor in glorious silence.

He leaves the Shinra Building and is getting ready to head to the train station, when a voice stops him in his tracks. Having not put his helmet on yet, he’s still easily recognizable.

“Hey Spike! Wait up!” Turning, he sees Zack jogging over to him. He can’t describe, nor does he fully understand, the overwhelming happiness he feels at seeing the other teen again. He also can’t help the smile that spreads across his face.

“Hi Zack! How’d Zolom hunting go?” The Midgar Zolom was a fearsome creature, indeed. A giant serpent over 30 feet tall, it would normally take an entire platoon of infantrymen to take one down. He’s glad that Zack is back without a scratch – 1st Class SOLDIERs really are something else.

Zack flexes an arm and flashes a grin in his direction. “Nothing I couldn’t take care of! How about you, Spikey? How’ve things been going for you?”

“Things are good. Training’s been going ok, I think.” No way was he mentioning the incident at the training grounds today. Not to mention lunch with Sephiroth and Rhapsodos. He was far too embarrassed for that. Besides, bragging was most definitely not his thing.

Zack smirks and Cloud gets the feeling he doesn’t need to tell him what happened. “Oh? Just ok?” Oh, he definitely knows. Cloud can feel his face start to heat up (he really needs to get this under control) as Zack continues, giving him a knowing look. “Word on the rumor mill is that a certain blond cadet has been seen having lunch with not only General Sephiroth but Commander Rhapsodos, too.”

Cloud groans and buries his face in his hands. “You just got back, Zack. How do you even know already??”

“Oh, not going to deny it then?” Zack just laughs at Cloud’s miserable look and fishes his PHS from out of a pocket. “I a member of both Silver Elite and Red Leather – you know Sephiroth’s and Genesis’s fan clubs? Well, the rumor mill for both is on **fire**. Everybody’s trying to figure out who this adorable little cadet is.” Cloud wrinkles his nose at ‘adorable’, completely ignoring ‘little’ for the time being, but Zack keeps going. “I also hear that you blew up the training grounds and then summoned Bahamut. **Nice** , man.” Zack finishes, practically giddy.

So much for getting his blush under control. “I didn’t blow up the training grounds…” It was technically true.

Zack snorts and shoves his PHS under Cloud’s nose. “No? Then what do you call this?”

On the screen, he sees a picture of himself. More specifically, he sees himself sprawled on the ground like an idiot while he and the two SOLDIERs with him stare at a giant inferno – the ill-fated dummies from this morning. “I didn’t blow up the training grounds.” He repeats and Zack raises an eyebrow. He rubs the back of his neck and continues, “I just blew up a few training dummies…”

The other teen bursts out laughing and Cloud follows suit shortly after. Zack sure was infectious. “Man, I knew you would be amazing, but I wasn’t expecting you to get up to so much fun so soon.”

Zack’s words cause Cloud’s laughter to come to a halt. Sure, people have been calling him amazing all day and he doesn’t think Zack would lie, but something just feels so wrong. Nobody had ever called him amazing before.

Granted, it’s all he has ever wanted – people thinking he’s special. But the wonder and surprise from the morning have started to wear off and he can’t help the self-doubt crawling up, suffocating him. He knows who he is – just the friendless kid from Nibelheim who wasn’t even able to save the girl he liked. As much as he hated to admit it, Johnson was right – he was a loser. This morning had to have just been a fluke. They would see he was nothing amazing soon enough.

Zack must have noticed his inner turmoil, cause the teen’s hands are on his cheeks, eyes searching his, worry clear on his face. “Hey, Cloudy, what’s wrong?” He asks, voice soft.

Cloud closes his eyes, not able to look at the brightness that is Zack anymore. “I’m nothing special, Zack. I don’t know why Sephiroth chose to train me anyway.” It made absolutely no sense. A worthless, useless cadet chosen specifically by the strongest, most famous person in the world? To train? Honestly, what did the General see in him? Cloud had absolutely nothing to offer.

There’s silence for several long moments in which Cloud doesn’t dare open his eyes. Even if everything he said was true, he wouldn’t be able to handle seeing the realization dawn on Zack’s face that Sephiroth made a mistake. That Cloud was the wrong cadet. Was wrong **period**.

After what feels like forever, Zack is speaking again, voice sad. “Spike, please open your eyes.” Open his eyes? How could he? How could he bring himself to see the disappointment on the other’s face? Having apparently hesitated too long, Zack pleads again, “Please, Cloud.”

Taking a shaky breath, he opens his eyes, slowly, hesitantly. He sees the sadness in the other’s as Zack offers him a weak smile, “We really need to work on your self-confidence, Spikey. You are amazing, dude. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.”

Cloud huffs and mumbles to himself, “Tell that to Johnson…”

“Who’s Johnson?” Zack asks, voice and eyes serious. Cloud hadn’t meant for the other teen to hear him, but SOLDIER senses and all that…

“Nobody important. Just a bully.” He doesn’t want to worry Zack, but from the look on the other teen’s face, it seems like he’s done just that.

“If he ever tries anything, I want you to tell me.” Zack says, face determined. Then, the teen is smiling as he ruffles Cloud’s hair. “Don’t worry, Spike. I’ll protect you.”

Cloud’s not sure why those final words cause such an intense feeling of sadness and loss.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the wonderful comments!! I swear I've been grinning like a fool while reading them. This is my first fic ever, so thanks everybody for making it such an enjoyable process 😊

Zack’s hands slide from Cloud’s face to his shoulders. “Hey, you wanna be a SOLDIER, right?”

Cloud nods his head, not trusting his voice. He’s sure there’s something vulnerable showing on his face, but he can’t bring himself to try to mask it. Something about Zack just seems right. **Feels** right. As if he had known Zack for years rather than just hours.

“Then what does it matter if Sephiroth is the one teaching you?” Cloud swallows, trembling slightly, unable to come up with a good enough response to that. Zack continues, never breaking eye contact. “Take full advantage of this, man. If being a SOLDIER is your dream, then embrace your dream.”

**_“My honor, my dreams… they’re yours now.”_ **

The voice in his head makes him want to cry, but Zack’s voice interrupts him, distracts him. “Sephiroth knows what he’s doing. I mean, he wouldn’t have picked you if you weren’t special.” Zack grins at him and winks. “Think about it, he didn’t pick Johnson.”

Cloud can’t help his smile at that. “Don’t let him hear you,” he says, voice still raw with emotion. It’s a good thing that they’re the only ones around, Johnson was already beyond pissed. Cloud didn’t need to add ‘laughing at the bully’ to his list of offenses. Johnson would definitely not thank him for that. At least not in the normal, non-violent way.

Zack laughs and moves his hands from Cloud’s shoulders to hold them out in front of him in a peace offering. “Ok, ok. But it got you to smile, though.”

It certainly did. The self-doubt still lingers, it always does. And it probably always would. But he feels a little better – Zack had made sure of that. He still doesn’t think that he is worthy and he definitely doesn’t know what Sephiroth sees in him, but Zack was right – at least Johnson wasn’t the General’s student. He doesn’t think he would be able to handle the gloating.

Zack pulls out his PHS again. “Look at this.” Zack shows him another picture. This one from when he had summoned Bahamut. Cloud can see the dragon hovering elegantly in the air, gaze trained on him. He, himself, just stands there, arm outstretched, Commander Rhapsodos standing entirely too close – no wonder everybody was talking. “You did this, dude.”

Cloud shakes his head, still in a state of denial. “It was just a fluke.” It might look amazing, but it probably meant nothing.

“A fluke?” Zack asks, shocked. “Bahamut is one of the most difficult summons. Not everybody can do it. It takes a **lot** of magic power to pull off.” Cloud feels his face heat up again as Zack looks at him knowingly. “And it doesn’t look like it even wore you out. That was no fluke.”

Cloud runs a hand through his hair and looks down at the ground, shuffling one of his feet. “O-ok. If you say so.”

“I do say so!” Zack says with certainty.

Cloud’s still not entirely convinced, but he’ll give up for now. He’s pretty sure Zack won’t concede on the matter. Especially not with all those photos. Speaking of photos – just who all had seen them? Wait. Cloud stops his fidgeting as he thinks of something else. “Zack…” He hesitates, a little wary of the answer. “Just how many photos are there?”

Zack’s laughter is not reassuring. “Those two, then there are a couple from when you had lunch with Sephiroth and Genesis… Oh! And then there’s one where Sephiroth is correcting your footwork.”

Cloud groans and covers his flaming face with his hands. Things just kept getting better and better. “Who took those pictures?”

“SOLDIERs love their gossip,” is Zack’s reply. At least he has the decency to sound sheepish. “I told you the rumor mill is on fire.”

Cloud sighs miserably. “I guess it’s too late to pretend it wasn’t me.” He considers dying his hair for a second, but figures that the damage is already done. Johnson and the other cadets already know who he is, dying his hair wouldn’t throw them off the scent. Not to mention that he would need to dye his hair every time there was a new photo. Nope, probably best just to grin (or frown) and bear it.

Zack laughs again, “Not with that hair.” Cloud gives him a weak glare – had he read his mind? – but Zack just grins and ruffles his spikes. “Hey, you have patrol today, don’t you?” He says, gesturing to Cloud’s helmet and rifle.

Cloud nods before responding, “Yeah. The Sector 7 slums.”

Zack frowns. “Drat. I was going to ask if you wanted to hang out. What about tomorrow?”

Cloud just shakes his head. “Nope, patrol then too.” Cloud almost laughs at Zack’s pouting – he really does look like a puppy. “I’m off the next day, though.”

* * *

_“Hello?”_

Tifa audibly gasps at the voice on the other end of the line. It had been _so_ long. “A-Aerith??” She chokes out, holding back tears. Even though Tseng had given her the number, she never thought that she would hear Aerith’s voice again.

There’s a matching gasp from the other end, then Aerith is responding, the excitement in her voice palpable. _“Tifa?!”_

Tifa sniffs, the tears so much harder to hold back now. She hadn’t even spared the thought that Aerith might not remember – Tseng would have said something. But the confirmation that she did remember coupled with the reminder of everything that they had lost out on was just so overwhelming. “Aerith. I’m so sorry. I should have – “

Aerith scoffs, cutting off her overdue apology. _“Oh, don’t you start that. I never blamed you or Cloud for what happened. Not once. You saved me from Hojo and whatever horrible plans he had for me. I treasured every moment of our time together, short as it was.”_

Tifa lets out a shaky laugh. “We never did get to go shopping on the plate,” she says a little petulantly. She’s not sure she can ever forgive Sephiroth for cutting their time short, even if he was repentant and not entirely to blame like Tseng claims.

Aerith’s answering giggle is perhaps the best thing that Tifa has ever heard. _“There’s no time like the present! Besides, I hear Cloud is in town. He can still be our pack Chocobo!”_

“We should probably wait until Cloud remembers first, though.” Tifa swears she hasn’t smiled this wide since she first remembered herself. She certainly wasn’t smiling after her conversation with Cloud. Her dreams that night had been so bad that she had even woken her dad. She had nearly told him that it was fine, that she was used to the nightmares by now, but luckily caught herself just in time. She had already been reduced to near hysterics when she first saw him again – dang 13-year-old emotions – she definitely didn’t need to worry him any further.

_“If you insist.”_

“Besides, I’m technically 13 right now. I don’t think my dad will let me leave Nibelheim anytime soon.” Not when she couldn’t seem to keep it together. “Not to mention that I don’t have the same strength anymore now that I’m in this child-size body.” And it was super frustrating. Though, she supposes it gives her time to change her dad’s mind about Cloud. She would never give up on her friend – not after everything they had been through together – but she would prefer not to alienate her father in the process. Losing him the first time had been painful enough.

_“Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on Cloud in the meantime.”_

* * *

When Cloud steps off the train in the Sector 7 slums, he’s not sure why the sight of everything gives him such a sense of wrongness. Instead of destruction and fire, which he had expected to see (and he honestly cannot explain why), he’s met instead with absolute normalcy. Benches line the train platform and people mill about waiting for their loved ones. Across from the platform, food vendors make a profit off the lingering crowd.

Chalking this up to his mind just playing tricks on him because of Reno’s strange words from the other day, Cloud overlooks the strange feelings and focuses on patrol instead. He’s paired up with a few other cadets in the program, ones he doesn’t know well enough to converse with or even remember the names of (he’s at least tactful enough not to mention the latter). They are aware of him, though, if their furtive glances are anything to go by. Thankfully, they do not mention his new training situation, instead limiting conversation to the bare minimum needed to complete patrol.

Patrol itself is finished painlessly enough, having only encountered the stray Wererat. The neighborhood watch seems happy for their help, though – Garrett and Logan had mentioned that before former President Shinra’s untimely demise, there were no patrols in the slums, so the watch had to deal with monsters by themselves. This extra help would explain why the slum dwellers weren’t inhospitable with them like he feels they should be.

When his fellow cadets head back to the train station, he opts to hang back instead. Indescribably nostalgic, he wanders the slums trying to determine exactly what it is that feels so familiar. The heart of the slums contains clothing and accessory vendors and all kinds of food shops, but there’s an empty lot across from that that Cloud feels should be occupied with something – a bar, perhaps? He’s just taken his helmet off to see if his naked eyes work better, when there’s a gasp and what sounds like “Bro?” from behind him.

Spinning around, he comes face-to-face with three teenagers. The eldest might actually be old enough to be considered an adult, but Cloud’s not sure. He has brown eyes and short dark brown hair that’s held back with a red bandana. He’s wearing an olive shirt, dark green cargo shorts, a black and a brown belt, and brown fingerless gloves.

The next eldest is a girl who looks to be a little older than Cloud himself. She has brown eyes and long brown hair tied in a high ponytail. Like her comrade, she also has a red bandana. She wears a blue leotard, a black overshirt, olive capris, and brown fingerless gloves with red bands. Cloud feels like she’s missing a breastplate, but doesn’t know why.

The youngest is a boy who appears to be Cloud’s age or a little younger. This one has blue eyes and short black hair that is also held back by a red bandana – unlike his companions, though, his covers his entire head. His outfit consists of an off-white shirt, a black undershirt, dark blue shorts, and black knee pads. The boy is heavier-set than his companions – _probably one too many Midgar Specials_ , Cloud thinks to himself. …Wait. What was a Midgar Special?

The youngest lets out another “Bro”, tears in his eyes. Before Cloud can correct him, though – he certainly isn’t his brother – the girl is in his personal space, staring into his eyes. “Wow. They’re just as pretty even without the glow.”

**_“Just keep those baby blues of yours on me!”_ **

The oldest sighs and shakes his head. “Jessie, give the boy some room.”

The girl – Jessie – gives the other an exasperated look. “We haven’t seen him in **ages** , Biggs. Besides, he doesn’t mind.” She then turns her attention back to Cloud, clasping her hands in front of her. “Isn’t that right, honey?” At Cloud’s dumbfounded look, Jessie just smirks. She leans forward with one hand on her hip, the other in front of her, index finger and thumb raised. “Psych.”

The youngest smiles apologetically at him, completely misreading the perplexed look on Cloud’s face. “Sorry, Bro. As you can see, Jessie is still Jessie.”

Jessie scoffs and turns to the youngest. “What’s that supposed to mean, Wedge?”

The oldest – Biggs – shakes his head again, but he’s smiling fondly, as if used to the two by now. “Ignore them. I gotta say, it’s great to see you again, man. Honestly, I thought that was it for me up on that pillar.” He grimaces, but doesn’t elaborate.

“Ah.” Cloud wants to say that he has no idea what these three are talking about – pillar, what pillar? – but, unfortunately, that is all his confusion-addled mind can handle at the moment.

Biggs must mistake his bewilderment for agreement because the other teen smiles. “Not that I’m complaining, of course. This is much preferable.” Preferable to what? Just what exactly had happened on that pillar? And why does he think that Cloud was involved?

“Have you seen Barret?” The youngest – Wedge – asks, looking at Cloud as if they were the best of friends. The boy doesn’t give Cloud the chance to even attempt to explain that he has no idea who this Barret is, much less any of them, instead continuing without missing a beat. “We were going to get the gang back together again. You know, help Barret out looking for new energy sources, but he says we’re too young.”

Jessie rolls her eyes, “You are too young Wedge – you’re only 13.” Younger than Cloud, then.

“Hey!” Wedge objects, looking mildly offended. “You’re not that much older than me!”

Biggs speaks up before their argument can devolve further, cutting Jessie off before she can do more than open her mouth in protest. “We’ve been working with Rufus instead.” He must misinterpret the look on Cloud’s face, cause he laughs. “Yeah. I know, man. I was suspicious of him at first, too, but he actually seems to care. We’ve been acting as his eyes on the ground. We find what really needs fixing and relay it back to him.”

Jessie laughs, too, a little unbelieving. “Can you believe it? Avalanche working with Shinra!” She says, snapping her fingers to punctuate her sentence.

“Ah.” Cloud swears he’s smarter than this, but apparently he hasn’t recovered enough to prove it yet.

Wedge throws a fist into the air, a wide smile on his face. “No more blowing up reactors for us!”

**_“Bombs detonated: one. Members lost: zero!”_ **

This is enough to kick-start his brain again. Ignoring Jessie’s scolding of “Wedge! Keep your voice down!”, Cloud manages to stutter out, “B-blowing up reactors?”

Apparently, this is not the response they were expecting, the startled looks on their faces mirroring the one on his. Biggs looks at him, something of a desperate look on his face. “Cloud, do you not remember?”

Cloud groans and tugs at his blond spikes with both hands. Not this again. He had thought, _hoped_ , that he would be safe from the strange voices and people expecting him to remember down here in the slums, so far from the Shinra Building. Apparently not. “Why does everybody keep asking that?? Just what am I supposed to be remembering??” He thinks that there must be something of a wild look in his eyes, but he can’t bring himself to care.

All three of them cringe simultaneously and the tears are back in Wedge’s eyes. Biggs is the one to answer again, looking dejected now. “Don’t worry about it, buddy. Just forget everything we said.”

The sad looks on their faces make him deflate and he offers the first thing that comes to mind – “it’s ok”. He’s still frustrated and still has no idea what the heck is going on – how did they know his name? – but he feels bad for ruining the mood, for making them look so miserable. He gives them a final, searching look, trying to figure out how he’s supposed to know them, but when nothing comes, he turns and starts walking back towards the train station.

He can hear Biggs mumbling as he passes a scrap dealer. “How did we not realize? He was staring at Seventh Heaven… What do we do now? Oh, we need to tell Barret.” Seventh Heaven? Is that what they were calling that empty plot of land? The name sounds awfully familiar, but nothing comes to mind.

“Biggs, stop overthinking things. It’ll be ok.” Jessie tries to console the other teen, though she sounds just as upset.

“I need something to eat…” Wedge says, depressed.

Jessie scoffs. “Really, Wedge?”

“What? I get hungry when I’m upset.”

Cloud feels like he should report this – blowing up reactors didn’t sound like a good thing. However, he’s never heard of a reactor actually being blown up and the three had mentioned that they were working with the President, so it’s probably fine, right? They seemed harmless enough, so it must all be a misunderstanding.

* * *

True to his word, Sephiroth focuses on Cloud’s endurance and footwork the next morning. Cloud does laps around the training grounds again, but with a hefty sword strapped to his back – he’s far more exhausted when he finishes this time, but he’s happy that he was at least able to finish. After training, the General once again insists on getting lunch together, completely ignoring Cloud’s protests.

Absorbed with trying to figure out just what the heck has been going on the past few days, Cloud doesn’t realize that he’s zoned out in his afternoon class – Monster Theory, or as the cadets call it, ‘What You Better Know About Monsters Before You’re In Deep Trouble’ – until it’s already too late.

“My class not interesting enough for you anymore, Strife?” The instructor – Sgt. Williams – calls him out. Williams is a man of average build and height, with honey brown hair that he keeps in a buzz cut. He has three long, parallel scars underneath his right eye that he swears are from a run-in with a rabid Coeurl, though rumor among the cadets is that it was nothing more than a regular Kalm Fang.

“Sorry, sir.” Cloud apologizes, mortified. So much for not drawing any more attention to himself.

Williams sighs, completely unimpressed. “Since you’re obviously an expert, perhaps you can enlighten us – what’s a Behemoth’s weakness?” Williams was in his mid-twenties and was still in the infantry, having never made it into SOLDIER. There’s a good chance that the man is bitter that Cloud is being trained by Sephiroth – they weren’t even close to covering Behemoths in class. Glancing around the room, Cloud sees a few other cadets snickering and Johnson sneering at him from his position on the other side of the room, clearly waiting for him to make a fool of himself. Unfortunately, this was the only class his roommates did not share with him.

Before he can come up with a decent apology for his lack of knowledge, his mouth is answering for him. “Behemoths have no elemental weakness and are immune to most status ailments. If you attack with magic while their horns are still intact, they will counter with Flare.” He almost finishes with ‘And boy, does it hurt,’ but he catches himself in time. As it is, he already has no idea how he knows all that. Going from the look on Williams face, it appears that the man is in the same boat.

“That – that’s correct,” Williams says, looking and sounding entirely stunned. Cloud makes the mistake of looking at Johnson again and finds the other teen glaring back at him. Not good. He hopes he can avoid him after class.

Williams goes back to teaching after that and Cloud thankfully manages to pay attention for the rest of class. He’s already planning on shooting out of the classroom the moment Williams dismisses them, using the other cadets as a shield from Johnson, when the instructor singles him out again. “Strife, a word after class. The rest of you are dismissed.” The other cadets file out of the room, Johnson purposefully knocking into Cloud’s desk and sending his belongings flying.

He wordlessly collects his belongings and goes to the front of the classroom, Williams either not noticing Johnson’s behavior or not caring, not that Johnson would clean up his act even if he was called out. Williams leans against the front of his own desk, arms crossed in front of him. “How did you know that, Strife? Have you been reading ahead?” The man sounds confused, but he doesn’t seem mad, so that’s something.

Cloud shrugs then shakes his head, just as confused as his instructor. “No, sir. I have no idea how I knew.” It was the truth, but that didn’t stop Williams from staring at him like he had sprouted an extra head.

“People don’t just pull answers like that out of thin air. Did you hear it from the General?”

He gets the feeling that that’s not the correct answer either, but he has no idea how to explain his sudden competence otherwise. “I guess so?” It feels like a bit of a cop-out, so he adds, “Him or somebody else.”

Williams sighs, exasperated, as if knowing he won’t get anything else of value from him. “Well, whatever. It doesn’t really matter. Just no more daydreaming in my class, got it?”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” Cloud adds in a salute for good measure.

Williams sighs again, “Alright, get outta here. You’re dismissed.”

Sneaking a glance out the door before exiting, Cloud’s relieved to find the hallway completely empty – no Johnson in sight. His relief is short-lived, though, for he’s no more than twenty steps down the hallway before he’s shoved roughly against the wall, a meaty fist balling up the collar of his uniform. His bully having no doubt hid, out of sight, until Cloud had left the classroom.

“Think you’re so smart, do you?” Johnson seethes from above him, spittle spraying from his mouth and landing on Cloud’s face. Disgusting. He squirms in the other’s hold, trying to find some purchase to kick Johnson and hopefully get away. This just pisses the other teen off more, though, and Johnson shoves him further into the wall, shaking him and tightening his hold on his collar, making it difficult for Cloud to breathe. “Once I’m done with you, Sephiroth won’t want you anymore.”

“What’s going on here?” A loud, stern voice interrupts Johnson’s ministrations. The other teen releases his hold on Cloud, his face losing all color – quite the feat considering how red it had been – when he recognizes the intruder as none other than the spiritual leader of SOLDIER, Commander Angeal Hewley.

Hewley is a tall, strong man with chin-length black hair. He’s wearing the traditional 1st Class SOLDIER uniform and is walking down the hallway towards Cloud and Johnson. He stops right in front of them, his impressively muscled arms crossed over his chest, a deep frown on his face.

“N-nothing, sir. I was just helping Strife here to his feet.” Cloud nearly laughs at Johnson’s unease, but thinks better of it. Hewley clearly doesn’t believe him, but before he can say anything, Johnson turns towards Cloud. “Isn’t that right, Strife?” He says, voice sickeningly sweet, a look that promises pain if Cloud disagrees on his face.

Cloud knows how this works. If he tells on Johnson, he’ll be beaten black and blue – _snitches get stitches_ , the voice in his head says, sounding an awful lot like the other teen. “Uh… T-that’s right, sir. I fell…” He manages to stutter out, staring at the floor, hands clenched at his sides. He knew this was for the best, but heck if he would lie to the Commander’s face.

A few moments pass in silence, then he hears a heavy sigh and looks up to see Hewley staring at him intently, the frown on his face far more pronounced. “Very well.” The SOLDIER says somewhat reluctantly, then turns to face Johnson, steel in his eyes. “You’re dismissed.” The other teen doesn’t argue and hurries off down the hallway. The Commander’s attention is then on him again and he fights the urge to swallow. “Cadet Strife. I can’t do anything if you refuse to speak up.”

“I-it really was nothing, sir.” He still can’t look the man in the eyes, focusing on a point to his right instead.

“This won’t make things better.” Hewley doesn’t sound happy. No wonder, too, since the Commander was all about being honorable – Johnson’s behavior anything but.

Cloud stares at nothing for a long moment until he gains the nerve to look at the other man. “With all due respect, sir, speaking up will only make things worse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- In the Japanese version of the Remake, when you rescue Aerith from Hojo, Tifa and Aerith have this cute moment where they just say one another's names ("Aerith!" "Tifa!" - I think it's translated as "You good?" "I'm great!" in English). I think it's absolutely adorable, and I tried to sort of mimic it during their interaction in this chapter.
> 
> \- I loved Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge in the Remake so much that I had to add them. For the purpose of this fic, though, I'm acting like they died on the pillar the first time around like in the original game.
> 
> \- Most of the stats for the Behemoth I took from the original game. Only thing I got from the Remake was needing to take out the horn first before using magic (then again, I'm pretty sure you can't destroy the horn in the original game anyway).


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zack and Cloud finally spend some time together!

“With all due respect, sir, speaking up will only make things worse.”

Hewley stares at him for several, long seconds, disapproval clear on his face, then heaves a sigh. “I do not approve of this, but I can see your mind is made up.” The Commander continues his silent assessment, eyes never leaving Cloud. “If this continues, though, I won’t hesitate to intervene. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir.” Cloud responds, a little shaky. He knows the Commander isn’t mad at him per se, but the man is still very intense.

“From now on, avoid that cadet. Don’t be alone with him. Make sure there are others around. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.” He stops himself from sighing, though a bitter taste is still left in his mouth. He was already trying to avoid Johnson. It’s not like he was seeking the other teen out for kicks and giggles.

“Good.” Hewley shakes his head, exasperated. “I swear you’re just as stubborn as Sephiroth.”

“S-sir?” What? Cloud must have heard wrong. No way was Hewley comparing him, a lowly cadet, to General Sephiroth.

The Commander smirks at him then, frown wiped away. “Perhaps that’s why he likes you so much.”

Cloud stands stock-still, staring at the man, eyes wide and completely flabbergasted. He wasn’t sure whether he was more surprised to hear that Sephiroth liked him or to find out that the always serious, stern Commander Hewley had a playful side.

Hewley laughs at his shocked face. “And Genesis won’t stop talking about you. Hearing him rave about you, he probably thinks you’re the best thing since _Loveless_.”

Cloud feels the heat rising in his face. From the twinkle in Hewley’s eyes, Cloud gets the feeling that the man’s not done embarrassing him just yet.

“And don’t get me started on Zack. I swear the puppy is practically in love with you already.”

Cheeks flaming, Cloud’s pretty sure that his brain has short-circuited as he gapes at the Commander, unable to form a single sentence.

* * *

“Whoa!” Zack flings himself to the side, ducking into a roll and narrowly avoiding the massive claws aimed his way. Gaining his footing again, he turns to face his enemy, sword at the ready in front of him. The large blue-grey dragon regards him in return, looking anything but pleased, dark blue blood staining the gold veining around its chest and shoulders from where Zack had already struck it.

Glancing around him, Zack sighs – there’s not much room to work with. He’ll have to be careful; people will not thank him for letting Bahamut Zero go on a plate-destroying rampage. Though, he supposes he should worry about Sector 8 first. No use worrying about other people’s reactions if Genesis has already burned him alive for allowing any harm to come to Loveless Theater.

When Bahamut lunges again, he’s ready. Jumping to the side, he grabs the piping protruding from the building next to him and uses it to launch himself into the air, above the dragon. Spinning to gain momentum, he brings his sword down hard on Bahamut’s head, the force sending the dragon crashing to the street below.

Landing smoothly on the ground, Zack watches in growing frustration as Bahamut pulls itself from the newly-formed crater. Of course that wouldn’t be enough to finish it. His annoyance is short-lived, though, replaced quickly with worry when the dragon’s eyes glow yellow, blue light starting to appear around its mouth. It extends all 6 of its wings as it continues to gather power, slowly ascending into the air. “Shit,” Zack breathes out. That was Tera Flare – its ultimate attack. He could kiss more than just Loveless Theater goodbye if Bahamut finished casting that.

Using the piping as leverage once more, he vaults up to the top of the theater. Taking one final leap from the rooftop, he soars towards Bahamut, sword raised. Thrusting forward, he totally expects for his sword to go through the dragon’s open mouth and out the back of its head. Instead, he’s met with thin air as Bahamut Zero and Sector 8 dissolve around him, the words “MISSION ABORTED” appearing on the display of his VR goggles.

“Thought I might find you here.”

Landing in a sloppy crouch, Zack whirls around, one hand shooting up to rip the goggles off his face as he glares at the intruder. “Geez, Angeal! Not again!”

Angeal just chuckles as he walks further into the room, making no effort to apologize for interrupting Zack’s training. “I hear you’ve been hogging the training room.”

Zack groans – of course his former mentor would have a problem with that. It’s not as if he had destroyed the room like his fellow 1sts did the first time around. “I’m just trying to get stronger for when we have to take care of Jenova.”

“Admirable. But I also hear that you’ve been refusing missions.”

It’s a shame Lazard doesn’t remember, otherwise Zack would have some strong words for the man for ratting him out. “I’m 1st Class now, Angeal. I’m allowed to refuse missions.”

Angeal nods, but doesn’t look swayed. “That is true. Though, it is curious that all the missions you’ve refused have included infantry backup. Do you perhaps have an issue with them?”

“No. Of course not.”

Angeal raises an eyebrow at his denial – the man had always been good at seeing through his lies. “You’re afraid.”

Zack frowns and runs a hand through his hair. “What if I recognize one of the infantry members as one of the ones who ambushed Cloud and me the first time? How do I deal with that? How am I supposed to work with them when they shot me without hesitation? When they would have killed Cloud if they had had the chance?”

Angeal hums in thought. “Let me ask you something. Can you work with me still?”

Taken aback, Zack looks at his former mentor incredulously. “What?? Of course I can work with you!”

“But I hurt you,” Angeal returns, silencing Zack with a wave of a hand when he tries to protest. “Perhaps not physically, but I did hurt you. It couldn’t have been an easy thing being forced to kill me.”

Swallowing past the frog in his throat, Zack turns sad eyes on the other SOLDIER, but doesn’t contradict him. “I know why you did it, though. I don’t approve of it and I’m still a little mad at you, but I forgive you.”

The look on Angeal’s face is incredibly fond, if a little regretful, and Zack hopes he’s not about to call him a puppy again. “And I will do my best to earn that forgiveness,” the man vows. “Though, that does bring me to another question. What about Sephiroth?”

Zack looks at him in confusion. “What about him?”

“Do you forgive him, too?”

Zack’s face scrunches up as he considers his answer. “Yeah.” He stops, a little surprised with himself at first, but then nods his head. “Yeah, I do. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to punch him sometimes, but I do forgive him.”

Angeal tilts his head to the side. “But he hurt you. He hurt Cloud. He’s the reason that Hojo experimented on the two of you. That the army was sent after you once you escaped. You could say that everything bad that happened to the two of you was because of him. Yet you still forgive him?”

Zack can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Come on, Angeal. You know that he was being controlled by Jenova. It wasn’t entirely his fault. You don’t want me to hate him, do you?”

Angeal shakes his head. “No, but I needed you to understand exactly why you forgive him.” His expression turns serious as he continues, “You say that he was being controlled, but couldn’t you say the same thing of the infantrymen that you’ve been avoiding?”

Zack stares at his former mentor, not entirely understanding what he’s getting at. “What? They were being controlled by Jenova?”

“No. But they were following orders. Their actions weren’t entirely of their own free will. You could say that they were being controlled by those in charge.” Zack’s eyes go wide as Angeal continues. “If they had refused, they could have been severely reprimanded. Court-martial or death would have been a mercy – you know just what former President Shinra and Hojo were capable of. Imagine their fate if they had been sent to Deepground – that would have been a sure way to cure them of any inclination towards disobeying orders.”

Zack feels a chill run down his spine – he hadn’t thought of it that way.

“You also know from personal experience just how good Shinra was with their propaganda. Even if the troopers knew of you or recognized your SOLDIER uniform, they had probably been told that you were a dangerous criminal.”

Zack sighs in defeat. “I suppose you’ve got a point.”

Angeal smiles at him and ruffles his hair. “Just remember that this is a second chance for all of us. You don’t have to be ok with being around the infantry at first, or even at all, but don’t run away from it. What I’ve learned is that the more you run away, the more problems you create for somebody else.”

* * *

The next day, Cloud finds himself wandering the plate with Zack. Kids ride bikes through the street and dogs root through overturned garbage cans as the two make their way down the sidewalk.

Zack is unusually quiet and subdued as they walk, something obviously on his mind. After a few minutes of walking in silence – silence that Cloud’s used to, but feels so out of place on the other teen – Zack finally speaks up. “Angeal told me about what happened yesterday.” Cloud tenses instantly, trying to fight the urge to flee. He was not ready to be having this conversation now. Or ever. Of course the man had told Zack. The two were close, Hewley being the other SOLDIER’s former mentor and all. “It was Johnson, wasn’t it?” And apparently, Zack remembered Cloud’s breakdown from the other day. Fantastic.

Refusing to look at the other teen like he had with the Commander, Cloud focuses instead on the concrete of the sidewalk as he continues to walk. “It’s fine.” His voice is surprisingly even, belying the tremor that had run through his body at the mention of his bully. Patrol the evening before had done a great job of distracting him from his issues with Johnson. Not to mention that he had been completely absorbed with the implications of Commander Hewley’s parting words – what exactly was he to the other 1st Class SOLDIERs? His distraction had been so complete that he hadn’t fully realized how shaken up the encounter with Johnson had left him. He would be in for more than just trouble if the other cadet ever caught him alone again – Johnson had outright promised as much. This was bad – really bad – he couldn’t avoid him forever.

A tug on his shoulder and a shout of “Cloud!” pull him from his musings and he watches, startled, as Zack leads him to a quiet corner away from the bustle of the street. There’s a concerned look on the other’s face and he wonders how long Zack had been calling his name. “It’s not fine,” Zack says, shaking his head to stress his point. “You shook head to toe just now when I mentioned his name. What did he do?” Hewley must not have been close enough yesterday to know everything that was said and done, otherwise Zack wouldn’t be asking.

“Nothing.” Cloud answers quickly. Too quickly. He’s pretty sure Zack knows he’s lying, but he keeps his attention on the construction machinery across the street. Hopefully, if he’s quiet long enough, the other teen will change the subject and he can go back to trying to forget about Johnson.

“ _Cloud._ ” Zack practically pleads and the desperation in his voice causes Cloud to finally look him in the eyes. “What did he do?”

Cloud sighs – guess there’s no way out of it. “He just shoved me against the wall. Commander Hewley showed up before he could do anything else.” While not a full recounting of what had happened, he didn’t want to mention what Johnson had said. Even though he knows he’s not worth it, he’s pretty sure Zack would be upset if he found out.

Zack looks like he knows Cloud’s hiding something, though, and a hard look comes over his face. “He threatened you, didn’t he?”

“Zack…” Cloud says, trying to deflect again, but from the look on the other teen’s face, he’s having none of it.

“No, Cloud.” Zack’s voice is serious and his hand tightens momentarily on Cloud’s shoulder. “What did he say?”

Cloud takes a deep breath to gain his bearings and responds, “He said that once he was done with me, Sephiroth wouldn’t want me anymore.”

The look on Zack’s face darkens instantly, eyes blazing. “Don’t worry, Spike. I’ll take care of him.”

The dangerous edge to Zack’s voice makes Cloud flinch. “No, Zack,” he says firmly. “No violence.” He won’t let Zack get into trouble because of him. Something deep inside him begs him not to let the other teen fight his battles, warns him that only bad things would come of it. While he doesn’t entirely understand, he does agree – he’s had bullies since Nibelheim, he can deal with one more.

A look of utter confusion crosses over Zack’s face. “What? But, Cloud – “

“Please, Zack. You’ll get in trouble,” Cloud interrupts, hoping that that will be enough to make the other listen. He ignores Zack’s “I really doubt it” as he continues. “Commander Hewley already told me to make sure I’m never alone with him. I’ll be fine.” Once again, he does not mention that he had already been trying to avoid the other cadet and that Johnson had been actively seeking him out. He gets the feeling that Zack would definitely not leave it alone if he knew.

“But, Cloud,” Zack whines, pout firmly on his face.

“Zack, no.” Cloud responds, hands on his hips, staring up at the other teen. He belatedly realizes that he sounds like he’s actually talking to a puppy.

Resignation falls over Zack’s face as he sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Fine… I forgot how stubborn you can be.” Ignoring Cloud’s confused look, he adds, “Just tell me if he tries anything again.”

* * *

They continue wandering the plate after that, Zack insisting that they check out _Mori’s Armor Emporium_ as they come across it. As Zack drops a feathered cap on his black spikes, Cloud realizes that this was just an excuse to goof off and lighten the mood – the cap looks absolutely **ridiculous** on him. Cloud gets a good laugh out of it, though. Going from the smug look on the other teen’s face, he figures that that was Zack’s goal all along. They don’t stay long, however, the owner kicking them out with a yell of “If you’re not here to buy anything, then get out!”

They make their way down the street again, both still laughing over their exploits in the armor shop. As afternoon rolls around, Zack suggests they get lunch at _Cactuar King_ , claiming that it’s the best burger joint on the plate. Cloud’s pleased to find out that the other teen is right, but is far more relieved to discover that the burgers aren’t actually made from Cactuars.

After lunch, they happen upon an abandoned playground and Zack insists that they check it out. “Man, this looks just like the one outside Wall Market.” He says, looking at a slide that resembles a giant cat. “Come on, man!” He exclaims, excited, as he slams his sword into the dirt and races around the back of the slide. In the next moment, Zack is on top of the cat and he waves at Cloud, beckoning him closer.

Cloud looks at the other incredulously, a little bitter that he was on top of the slide – he was tall enough as-is. “What? No, Zack. That’s for children.”

Placing one hand on his hip, Zack brings the other up to cup his ear. “What did you say? I can’t hear you!” He says in a bit of a singsong voice and then proceeds to plop down on the cat’s head. He pats the space next to him and continues, “C’mon, dude! This spot’s for you!”

Sighing, Cloud levels one last look at the other teen, before reluctantly trudging around the back and climbing up the handholds on the slide. “You’re ridiculous.” He says as he settles down next to Zack, who just grins at him in response.

Once situated, they talk about random things – Zack content to just sit on top of the slide, staring up at the smog-covered sky. “Oh, man. I remember back in Gongaga, we used to play SOLDIERs and Monsters all the time!”

“SOLDIERs and Monsters?” Cloud had never heard of that before. Was it a game?

Zack gives him a surprised look. “You’ve never heard of SOLDIERs and Monsters?” When Cloud shakes his head, Zack continues incredulously. “How have you never heard of SOLDIERs and Monsters?? That’s all we ever played growing up!”

Cloud’s hands clench the hem of his shirt while he stares unseeing in front of him. “…I never had any friends in Nibelheim.” Well, his voice sounds all kinds of pathetic.

Zack sucks in a harsh breath next to him. “Shit, Spike. I’m sorry.”

He just hums in response, gazing bitterly at the slide underneath his feet. Not that he wanted friends in Nibelheim, anyway. All the kids there were stupid. Well… except for Tifa, of course.

“No worries! I’ll teach you then!” Zack sounds like he’s trying to cheer Cloud up, but there’s a tinge of sadness in his tone. “You have two teams – one SOLDIERs, the other monsters. There are two marked areas – one for the Lifestream, the other for the monsters’ lair. Then there’s an item that the monsters try to grab and take back to their lair.” Zack flashes him a childish smile as he continues his tale. “The item can be anything, but it usually signifies a town or something and if the monster gets it back to their lair, then that town has been ‘destroyed’!”

Sounds silly so far, but Cloud finds that he likes Zack’s enthusiasm. He turns to the other teen and asks, “Ok. And the SOLDIERs try to keep that from happening?”

It seems pretty obvious going from the name of the game, but Zack still looks so happy that he guessed. “Yeah! If a monster is tagged by one of the SOLDIERs, they ‘return to the Lifestream’ and they can’t leave again unless one of their monster buddies outside the Lifestream helps them.” Zack is practically beaming now, obviously very fond of the game. “The SOLDIERs win if they protect the town for a certain amount of time or if they send all the monsters back to the Lifestream. And the monsters win if one of them makes it back to their lair with the item and, you know, ‘destroys the town’.”

This definitely sounds like a game the kids back in Nibelheim would have liked. Which would mean that it was stupid. But Zack liked it, too. So… maybe it wasn’t that bad. “You played this a lot?”

“Oh, all the time! It was the best!” A thoughtful look crosses Zack’s face. “I know! Since you’ve never played it before, let’s play it now!”

“No. Zack, no.” Cloud tries to object, flustered. Sitting on the slide was one thing, but playing a game meant for children? No way.

Zack grins at him and wags a finger in front of his face. “ _Yes. Zack, yes_ – you mean. Come on, let’s play!” And using a hand as leverage, Zack vaults off the slide with a soft exclamation of “alley-oop” and lands smoothly on the ground below.

Cloud scrambles down the handholds on the back of the slide, not trusting himself to be able to pull off the same maneuver that the other teen had. As he rounds the slide, he tries to object again. “But Zack…”

“Nuh-uh. Come on. You can be the SOLDIER and I’ll be the monster.” Zack responds with a smile. That simple statement leaves Cloud dumbfounded. Why would he be the SOLDIER? He knows that if the kids back home had ever let him play, not that they would have, he would have always been the monster.

“What? Me the SOLDIER? Zack, you’re already a SOLDIER yourself.” It didn’t make sense. Why would the other teen volunteer to be the monster?

Head tilted to the side, Zack looks like he doesn’t understand his point. “So? All the more reason for you to be the SOLDIER now!” Ignoring Cloud’s attempt to reason with him again, Zack instead takes to looking around the playground, a thoughtful look on his face. “Hmm, what should we use for the town?” Turning back around, Zack’s face lights up when his eyes land on Cloud again. “I got it!” He exclaims, pointing directly at Cloud.

Face furrowing in confusion, Cloud glances behind him, but doesn’t see anything. “What are you talking about, Zack? I’m the town? I thought you wanted me to be the SOLDIER…” He’s pretty sure he can’t be both. Not to mention that he has no desire to find out how Zack would get him back to the monsters’ lair, either.

“No, silly!” Zack says, smirking, as he stalks towards Cloud, looking strikingly similar to a predator. Coming to a stop in front of him, he plucks Cloud’s scarf right off his neck, a mischievous look in his eyes. Dangling his scarf in front of his face, Zack declares, “This will be the town!”

Cloud looks at him, exasperated. He couldn’t be serious. “Zack. Give that back,” he says, holding out a hand.

Zack shakes his head, still smirking. “Nuh-uh. If you want this back, you have to stop my monstery rampage!” And he turns around and starts stomping towards the other end of the playground, making what could only be his attempt at monster noises.

Cloud’s not entirely sure what happens next, but one second he’s chasing after Zack and then he’s on top of the other teen, Zack sprawled out on the ground underneath him.

Zack stares wide-eyed up at Cloud, whose expression probably mirrors his, and then bursts out laughing. “Ok, ok. You win.” Returning Cloud’s scarf, he winks. “You only had to tag me, though.”

* * *

“I wasn’t expecting you to take me up on my proposal so quickly!” Aerith says from her spot in the flower bed in the old church, surrounded by white and yellow lillies. Standing up and turning to face him fully, Zack can see the pure amusement in her green eyes.

A feeling of uneasiness washes over him as he looks for clarification. “Uh, what are you talking about?”

She comes to stand in front of him, wagging a finger in his face. “Angeal’s not the only one with a fan club, you know.”

He can feel the embarrassment rising in his chest at the implication of her words. “Oh, no…”

“Oh, yes.” She counters, smiling like a Moogle who had just found a horde of Kupo Nuts. Laughing at his face, she continues. “There’s quite the suggestive picture of Cloud on top of you.”

Eyes going wide, he holds his hands out in front of him. “That’s not – We were only playing SOLDIERs and Monsters!”

Tapping a cheekbone, she hums in thought. “Pretty sure that’s not how you play that game.”

* * *

Training proceeds in a similar manner the next few days, Sephiroth focusing on the physical aspect and Commander Rhapsodos the magical. Upon entering the Shinra Building after one such session, Sephiroth leads him over to the side, stopping in front of an all-glass, circular elevator.

“I’m afraid I will be unable to join you for lunch today, Cloud. I have a meeting with the President.” Sephiroth informs him, green eyes staring down at him.

“I understand, sir.” Cloud doesn’t even bother telling the man that they don’t have to get lunch together every day – it certainly didn’t work any other time, it no doubt wouldn’t work now. He firmly silences the fanboy side of him that insists that the General sounds disappointed.

Sephiroth regards him silently for a few moments before speaking again. “I will see you tomorrow then, Cloud.” He presses a keycard to the panel on the elevator, steps through the glass door, and is gone.

Cloud turns around and is just considering grabbing lunch at the third-floor cafeteria so he can avoid the cadet one, when he sees Johnson entering the building. Panicking, he does the first thing he can think of and runs through the doors leading to the parking garage behind him. Standing as close to the wall as he can, staring through the glass, he breathes a sigh of relief when he sees Johnson continue up the stairs to the elevator bay, completely oblivious to Cloud’s presence.

“Vincent should be coming to get us.” A voice behind him startles him from his makeshift hiding spot. Turning around, he sees an old man and a dog – a lion? – walking up the stairs from the garage.

The old man is bald with a long, white beard and white, bushy eyebrows. He wears a long, blue robe and round, tinted glasses. Rather than walking like Cloud originally thought, the man is actually floating on a large, green orb.

His companion, the dog-lion-thing, has red fur and a thin, brown mane. It has feathers and beads around its head, gold braces and black patterns on its legs, and, to Cloud’s utter surprise, what appears to be a tail on fire.

He’s still standing there, gaping at the strange new arrivals, when the two notice that they have company. The dog-lion saunters up to him, sticks out its tongue briefly to wet its nose, then sits on the floor, yellow eyes trained on Cloud, flaming tail slowly flicking back and forth. Squinting slightly, Cloud tries to figure out what seems off. Is the creature missing a scar? A tattoo?

“Ho ho hoo! It’s been a long time, young one!” The floating man exclaims, sounding happy to see him, green orb bobbing up and down as he talks.

Cloud can’t remember having ever met the man, but he had said it had been a long time. Not to mention that Cloud’s mother had always taught him to respect his elders, so he tries to play along. “Uh, hello.” He hopes that that’s enough – he still doesn’t know what to make of these visitors.

The dog-lion hasn’t moved an inch, eyes never leaving Cloud, tail still swaying lazily behind it. Its master – companion? – starts speaking again, apparently pleased with Cloud’s response. “The President has invited us here to speak about Jenova.”

**_“Hojo’s treasure. Shinra’s dark secret.”_ **

Rather alarmed by the voice in his head, Cloud opens his mouth to ask just what Jenova is exactly, but the levitating man beats him to it. “Ho ho hoo! But I imagine you know that much already!” What? Why would he know about that? It’s not like he was kept apprised of the President’s schedule. He was just a lowly cadet after all. “You will be joining us today, I presume, little one?”

Not keeping up with this conversation at all, Cloud just gawks at the other two, mouth hanging open – if his mother was there, she would tell him to close his mouth before he caught some Bugaboos.

The dog-lion is still staring at him and the intelligence in its eyes is unsettling. Flicking its tail one last time, the creature opens its mouth and _talks._ “Grandfather, I don’t believe he remembers.”

While the dog-lion did seem to understand what was going on around it, it talking was the last thing Cloud expected and he finds himself sprawled on the floor in shock, staring up unbelieving into amused yellow eyes. He swears the creature grins before speaking again. “I have to say, your reaction this time around is far more amusing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I did make a FF7 version of Cops and Robbers! I used to play that game with my cousins all the time, though I honestly cannot remember ever having an item that the robbers had to steal...


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise chapter! This probably won't happen often, but I had an extra chapter ready to go. (There will still be another update on Thursday)

Sephiroth’s not sure who he was expecting to come through the conference room doors, but the old, levitating man and the red lion accompanying Vincent were definitely not it. Upon closer investigation, though, he does remember the creature as being one of Cloud’s former companions – Red, was it? – so perhaps not that surprising after all. Thankfully, they were on the same side this time - he would prefer not to be on the receiving end of those claws or fangs… again.

“Yo, Red!” Reno yells, hands planted firmly on the table, halfway out of his seat to get a better look at their guests. Sephiroth almost thinks that perhaps he wasn’t being uncharacteristically lazy (and unoriginal) when trying to remember the lion’s name. However, the fact that this is Reno, who is fond of nicknames and being a nuisance in general, coupled with the unimpressed look on the beast’s face makes him reconsider.

Slowly loping up to the table, the lion gracefully bounds into the seat next to Zack, flaming tail somehow not damaging the leather of the chair. Leveling a glare at Reno, he explains to the table. “Red XIII is merely the designation given to me by Hojo the first time around. I am Nanaki, son of brave Seto, warrior and protector of Cosmo Canyon.” And he bows his beaded head ever so slightly in greeting. Sephiroth frowns at the mention of the former scientist – Nanaki no doubt was another of the creep’s unwilling guests.

Having dealt with the lion before, Sephiroth is not surprised to hear him talk. He can’t say the same for his fellow SOLDIERs, though. Angeal and Genesis, at least, seem to be hiding their shock relatively well. Zack, on the other hand, gawks at his seatmate, eyes round, mouth hanging open. Sephiroth vaguely wonders if Genesis’s own surprise is keeping him from making some sort of quip about puppies and lions.

Gears in his head finally turning again, Zack announces, “It talks!” His exclamation serves no purpose, though, the remaining occupants of the conference room already fully aware of Nanaki’s ability to express himself verbally, Genesis chiming in with his own “Obviously, Zackary.”

Nanaki studies the teen for a few moments, unamused look shifting to a more thoughtful one. “You must be Zack Fair.”

Zack looks entirely flabbergasted now – as it stands, Sephiroth finds the lion’s wisdom rather unexpected himself. “You know who I am?”

Nanaki licks his nose, ear flicking once, before responding. “Cloud spoke of you often – once Tifa helped him regain his memories, that is. He missed you very much.”

Zack’s look of awe at being recognized quickly morphs into a more sober one, a single tear sliding down his face. “You were friends with Spike, then?”

Nanaki hums in agreement, though it comes out as more of a low growl. “Yes. We fought together to stop Sephiroth from destroying the planet.” And the lion turns his gaze to him, stretching up in his chair in an attempt to appear as large and intimidating as possible.

Sephiroth, the almost planet-destroyer, considers apologizing for only half a second. However, he figures that ‘Ah. Sorry about that,’ would fall seriously short of the mark and would, frankly, be incredibly insulting to all those involved in the fight to stop him. Instead, he hopes the pained grimace on his face is enough to convey his intentions this time around.

Before Nanaki can finish sizing him up, though, Zack is talking again, having failed to read the room. “Cloud doesn’t remember the first time around.”

Nanaki nods, beaded mane swaying with the movement. “Yes, I noticed that. Grandfather and I ran into him in the parking garage,” he says, gesturing to the old man with his head. The man who is still on his floating, green orb. Who has moved from the front of the conference room to the chair next to Reeve. Who is still on his floating, green orb **on** the chair next to Reeve. The man is rather short in stature, though, so maybe he uses the orb to be able to see over the table.

Face scrunched up, Reeve addresses his former companion. “Why was Cloud in the parking garage?” Sephiroth is pleased to note that that question causes even the Turks some bewilderment. As it is, he himself is certainly confused as to how the boy ended up in the garage when he left him outside of the elevators.

“Ho ho hoo! He appeared to be hiding from something,” the floating man says, each word punctuated with an alternating rise or fall of the green orb.

Rude looks confused as he pushes his sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose. “What was he hiding from?”

“ _Johnson_ ,” is Zack’s growled reply, expression a dangerous mix between _completely pissed_ and _murderous_. There is an unusually dark look on Angeal’s face, too.

“Who is Johnson?” Sephiroth asks coolly, already anticipating the answer. Going from the abrupt change in atmosphere, whoever this person is, he can’t be anything good.

Zack snarls – _snarls_ – before answering, looking Sephiroth dead in the eyes, a hard glint in his own. “He’s Cloud’s bully. Said once he was done with Cloud, you wouldn’t want him anymore.”

Sephiroth feels his face harden at that admission, the look on his face no doubt mirroring that of _all_ his fellow SOLDIERs. He hasn’t lost control of all his faculties, though, so he doesn’t miss the look that Nanaki throws Vincent, who’s in the same corner of the room as last time. He also doesn’t miss the nod Vincent gives in return – shallow and quick though it is.

He has no time to dwell on their silent conversation, however – Genesis choosing that moment to come to the defense of their shared student. “He won’t be a problem once I’m done with him,” the other SOLDIER declares, the fire materia in his bracer glowing ominously.

Angeal sighs, no doubt still feeling honor-bound, though the look on his face is rather thunderous. “Genesis. You cannot be judge, jury, and executioner.”

“ _Watch me_.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Angeal tries again. “Cloud refuses to report the bullying – says that if he does, it will only get worse. As far as I can tell, the other cadet hasn’t done any major harm. I’ve already told Cloud to make sure that he’s never alone with him. The only thing we can do is keep an eye on the two of them.”

Genesis does not like that answer, if the scowl on his face is anything to go by, but he keeps his mouth shut and his fire materia finally stops glowing.

“Genesis, we’ll respect Cloud’s wishes for the time being.” Rufus says, though he doesn’t appear to be too happy either, if the sharp look in his eyes means anything. “I would like you and your fellow SOLDIERs to keep an eye on him though,” he continues, looking at each of the SOLDIERs in turn. “Make sure he’s not alone. I want to know if things escalate. Understood?” They all nod in unison. Not that they need to be told to watch Cloud. Especially not Zack.

Reno snorts and leans forward towards Genesis, a smirk plastered on his face – no doubt about to repay the SOLDIER for his gibe from last week. “Thought ya said he wasn’t that impressive, yo?”

Genesis sniffs, looking down his nose at the Turk. “That was before I saw him handle materia.” Magic was definitely the quickest way to find yourself in Genesis’s good graces. That and _Loveless_ , of course.

“And now you want him to handle yours, eh?” The red-head returns, practically leering at the other man – obviously, he still has absolutely no filter. His antics earn him a slap on the back of the head from his partner and a sharp warning of “ _Reno_.” from Tseng.

“He summoned _Bahamut_ without breaking a sweat.” Genesis responds, still looking haughty, completely ignoring the red-head’s baiting. The look on Reno’s face makes it clear that he wants to say something else, but he keeps whatever it is to himself, having already been thoroughly reprimanded by his fellow Turks.

“Ho ho hoo! It would appear that he’s retained his magical ability even if he doesn’t fully remember.” The old man looks entirely fascinated by this discovery.

Genesis turns in his seat towards Sephiroth, the look in his eyes reminiscent of the one he had when he first insisted on training Cloud. “If you don’t marry that boy, **I** will.”

Sephiroth feels something utterly possessive rise in his chest, the words _Cloud is mine_ on the tip of his tongue. Possessiveness he hasn’t noticed since _playing_ with the boy – the _man_ – in the ruins of Midgar, carving out the marks of his ownership with the tip of Masamune. He almost confesses his thoughts to the table – it would be bad if this was a sign of Jenova returning – but he thinks better of it. He is positive he would never hear the end of it from Reno. Not to mention that Rufus could be particularly manipulative, too, when the fancy struck him. No. Better to consult his fellow SOLDIERs first. On second thought, maybe just Angeal first – Genesis would get entirely too much amusement out of this and Zack would no doubt be entirely too protective of his friend.

“Oi, partner! Guess that leaves Tifa for you, yo!” Reno crows, the calming influence of the other Turks having already worn off. Rude goes bright red at his side, mouth opening and closing a few times, no words coming out.

The sound of a throat clearing rings through the conference room and Sephiroth turns to find Rufus with an entirely unimpressed look on his face. Apparently, the nature of their conversation was enough to cut through the carefully constructed mask of his. “Gentlemen. I’ve called Nanaki and Master Bugenhagen here to figure out how to deal with Jenova. _Not_ to discuss Cloud’s marriage prospects.” He looks at each of the room’s occupants in turn before continuing. “As it stands, we’re not sure how long Jenova will lay dormant, but when she gains awareness again, we **need** to be ready.”

Genesis scoffs and waves a hand dismissively. “Just let me torch the freak. One well-aimed Firaga should take care of it.”

Rufus raises a single, elegant eyebrow, but otherwise lets Sephiroth respond, the General starting to feel unimpressed himself. “We’ve been over this before, Genesis. We’re not sure if you and Angeal are susceptible to Jenova’s influence.” Apparently, the man had retained his hero complex along with his obsession with _Loveless_.

“Ho ho hoo!” Bugenhagen joins in, apparently very fond of that exclamation. “That wouldn’t work anyway! Even foreign entities can be absorbed into the Lifestream when they die. There’s no saying whether we would be able to destroy all of the Jenova cells if that were to happen. And if we can’t destroy them, they could infect the Lifestream again.”

“Well, that complicates things.” Rude observes, a frown on his still red face.

“How do we proceed, then?” Rufus asks, elbows on the table, fingers laced in front of him.

Bugenhagen hums in thought as the green orb rises and falls again. “We can either seal Jenova away on the planet where nobody can find her...”

The floating man pauses, giving Reno the opportunity to bite out, “'Cause that worked so well the first time, yo.” They certainly don’t need another scientist stumbling upon the alien evil and finishing what Hojo had started.

“Or we could find a way to get Jenova off of Gaia before destroying her,” Bugenhagen finishes as if he wasn’t interrupted.

Reeve shifts in his chair to get a better look at Bugenhagen. “But how do we get Jenova off the planet?”

“Shinra No. 26.” Nanaki drawls, answering for his grandfather. Sephiroth does not dwell on the fact that the floating man is obviously human and his grandson very much not.

Rufus smirks and leans back in his chair. “Cid is going to hate me again.” Sephiroth and his fellow SOLDIERs seem to be the only ones in the room who have no idea what he is talking about.

Brows furrowed, Angeal asks, “What is Shinra No. 26?”

“You know of Shinra’s Space Program?” At Angeal’s nod, Rufus continues, “Shinra No. 26 is a spaceship currently being built. It should be finished within the next year or two.”

“And Cid hating you?” Sephiroth questions, feeling curiosity bubble up inside of him. He knows that Rufus can be an acquired taste, especially the first time around, but what had he done to make Cid Highwind hate him?

“Cid was set to be the first man in space the last time around, but the launch was aborted to save the life of his assistant. She was still doing a safety check at the time and would have been killed in the blast. After that, my father cut funding to the program and Shinra No. 26 was abandoned.” The President throws another smirk in Sephiroth’s direction. “Then, after you reemerged and I became President, I first attempted to commandeer his plane to track you down, then we took control of the spaceship to try to destroy Meteor.” Well, no wonder the pilot wasn’t fond of him.

Zack perks up in his seat. “But how do we transfer Jenova to the spaceship?” That was a very good question. Forget disposing of her properly if they couldn’t even find a way to get her onto the spaceship.

Speaking up for the first time outside of his earlier admonishment, Tseng answers, “Jenova currently lies dormant within the mako reactor in Nibelheim. If we can find some way to fill her container with mako and then freeze that mako, we can render her immobile should she become active again. Then we won’t have to worry about parts of her breaking free while she’s being moved.”

Rufus nods. “We can run some tests, but we have at least a year or two to figure it out. In the meantime, we can talk to Cid about the spaceship the next time he and Barret stop by.”

* * *

“Hey! Looks like your boyfriend is here for you!”

Garrett’s words and booming laugh draw Cloud’s attention away from his nearly-finished sandwich and he looks up to see Zack coming through the entrance of the cadet cafeteria. Turning his attention back to the red-head, he rolls his eyes for his roommate to see and says, “Zack is not my boyfriend.” He swallows the last bite of his sandwich, though. The red-head was at least right about one thing – if Zack was here, he was no doubt here for Cloud.

Garrett raises an eyebrow and Logan snorts from next to him – traitor. “Oh? That picture of the two of you would suggest otherwise.” All three of his roommates had teased him relentlessly about that picture when he got back from the plate (“ _So… You and Zack Fair, huh?_ ”) and it certainly didn’t seem like he was going to live it down anytime soon either.

Sighing exasperatedly to illustrate just how ridiculous this all was, he tries to reason with the red-head – _again_. “Dude, I told you before – he was just showing me how to play a game.” He realizes how the picture looks (and had blushed quite violently the first time he saw it), but there was honestly nothing to it. He wishes people would just mind their own business. He would also love it if Zack’s fellow SOLDIERs would stop winking at him every time they see him.

“ _Some_ game.”

Cloud just glares at Garrett, the smirk never leaving the other cadet’s face. Colin chooses that inopportune moment to giggle at them and then full-out laughs when Cloud throws an incredulous look his way. Yup. Never living this down.

“Cloooudy!” Zack had reached their table and was now smiling brightly down at him. Well, this certainly wouldn’t help the rumors. “You don’t have patrol tonight, right?”

“Uh… That’s right.” He’s not really sure how Zack knows his schedule, but heck if he was going to ask in front of his roommates. The same roommates who were still making fun of him for accidentally straddling the SOLDIER the other day. Nope. Better not to bring it up.

If possible, Zack’s smile grows. “Awesome! I just got _Chocobo Quest III_! Wanna play with me?”

Logan kicks Garrett before he can finish what would no doubt have been “Of course he wants to play with you!” Feeling rather grateful for the assist, Cloud guesses he should rescind that ‘traitor’ from earlier. “Yeah, sure. As long as you don’t make any Chocobo references.” That is one thing he would not negotiate on.

He’s not sure how anybody could go from smiling so wide their cheeks must hurt to pouting in the blink of an eye, but Zack certainly manages it. “Aww, come on! Just one!”

“ _No._ ”

Zack sighs. “Fine, fine.” As if just noticing his roommates, Zack runs a hand through his hair and smiles sheepishly. “Oh! You guys don’t mind, right?”

Logan and Colin are the nice ones and just shake their heads. But Garrett – Garrett has a smirk on his face that promises nothing but trouble. “Not at all. He’s all _yours._ ”

If Zack catches on, he doesn’t say anything. Instead he throws out a “Fantastic!” and pulls Cloud from his seat, wide smile back on his face. Cloud glares at Garrett in warning as they leave, but the red-head just waggles his eyebrows in response.

“No more run-ins with Johnson?” Zack asks after the door to his apartment has closed, voice sounding a bit strained.

“W-what? No, o-of course not.” Cloud really does try, but from the frown on the other teen’s face, he failed miserably. Technically, it’s not really a lie, though.

“ _Cloud._ ”

He sighs. “I didn’t run into him. I just saw him coming in the main entrance earlier today. Commander Hewley told me never to be alone with him, so I hid.” Totally doesn’t sound lame that way, right? No need to tell Zack that he had panicked, too.

Realization dawns on the other teen’s face. “Ohh. So that’s why you were in the parking garage.”

Wait. What?

“How did you know I was in the parking garage?” Cloud hadn’t told anybody about that.

Rubbing the back of his head and smiling apologetically, as if not realizing he had spoken aloud, Zack says, “Nanaki and Master Bugenhagen said they saw you.”

“Who?”

“Old man that uses a green orb to fly and this talking lion… or was he a dog?” Zack responds, face scrunched up in thought. “Oh! Wait! Other way around! Nanaki is the lion or dog or whatever and Master Bugenhagen is the old man.”

“Oh. Them…” He should have known. They definitely acted like they knew him.

Before he can try to figure out why those two were talking to Zack anyway – he really hopes they weren’t talking about him during their meeting with the President, as strange as that would be – Zack is dragging him into the living room. “Well, anyway, let’s play some games!” The other teen says, pulling out _Chocobo Quest III_. He looks at the cover of the game – which Cloud can see has a rather large Chocobo on it – then back to Cloud. “You know – “

“Remember, Zack. _Absolutely_ no Chocobo references.”

Zack pouts again, but doesn’t test his luck, starting up the game with an exaggerated “Fiiiiine…” He passes Cloud a controller and then makes himself comfortable on the couch. When Cloud hovers too long and too awkwardly – not used to being invited…well, anywhere – Zack tugs him wordlessly onto the couch next to him.

Zack insists that Cloud play as the main character – the hero – and no amount of protesting changes his mind. For himself, Zack chooses the hero’s appointed knight, throwing Cloud a cheeky “Don’t worry, Spike! I got your back!” That cheerful admission brings a fresh wave of sorrow, but Cloud has no time to dwell on it, thrust into the game as he is. Once started, he is pleasantly surprised to find that they work extremely well together, solving puzzles with ease and covering each other in battle. Zack, on the other hand, acts as if he totally expected this outcome – “I knew we’d make a great team!”

The premise of the game itself seems rather silly to Cloud – a hero blessed by the Godsbird (a giant Chocobo affectionately dubbed ‘Fat Chocobo’ by fans) embarks on a quest to save the land from the evil Behemoth King. Cloud finds that he enjoys playing it anyway. Or perhaps it’s just because it’s Zack that he’s playing it with.

When they get tired of that one, they switch to _Tonberry Kart_. Cloud finds that the sight of the Tonberries in their little go-karts is equal parts adorable and absolutely terrifying. The monsters still hold their knives while driving – which doesn’t seem safe _at all_ – their lanterns hanging on a hook off the driver’s right.

* * *

A knock on the door pulls Angeal away from tending to his plants. Sighing, he crosses to the entrance of his apartment – there was only one person who ever visited this late. “Genesis. For the last time, the plants are staying. I don’t mind the bugs.” He bites out, exasperated, as he opens his front door.

Except the person standing on the other side is most definitely not Genesis.

“Sephiroth?”

“May I speak with you?”

“Oh… yeah. Sure.” Not sure what to make of this, Angeal steps out of the way to let Sephiroth through, closing the door behind him. Belatedly realizing that he still has a watering can in his hand, he sets that down on the table near the door and leads the other SOLDIER further into the apartment.

Gesturing for Sephiroth to make himself comfortable, Angeal continues into the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffee?”

“I think Jenova might be active again.”

Dropping the tin of tea in his hand, Angeal whirls around to find that Sephiroth had followed him into the kitchen. “What?? I’ll call Genesis and Zack!” They need to inform the President, too. This was bad…

“No!” Taken aback by the pleading note in Sephiroth’s voice, Angeal gives the other a questioning look. “I wanted to talk with you first in case I was wrong.” Sephiroth admits, looking rather uncomfortable.

Angeal definitely doesn’t think this was the right course of action, but he guesses he can understand not wanting to go to Genesis first. He also can’t deny the pride that floods through him at the realization that Sephiroth trusts him the most in this situation. Alright, he could triage this. “Is Jenova talking to you?”

“No.”

“Then, do you feel like you’re losing control of your actions?”

Sephiroth considers that for a moment before shaking his head and responding, “No.”

“Hmm. Do you feel the urge to destroy all life on Gaia and then use the planet as a vessel to sail the cosmos?”

“Of course not.” Sephiroth responds, with a hint of irritated incredulity as if he hadn’t tried that exact same thing the first time around.

Angeal sighs. Well this isn’t getting him anywhere. He wishes he had had the foresight to have tea ready. Even if Sephiroth didn’t want any, he could use a cup himself right now. “Ok… Why do you think Jenova might be active again?”

“When Genesis said he was going to marry Cloud, I felt a strong wave of possessiveness and almost told him to back off. That Cloud was mine.”

.

.

.

All Angeal can do is stare at the other SOLDIER, not quite believing his ears. Sephiroth, for his part, _fidgets_ under the scrutiny, but Angeal is too far gone to realize how strange that is – Sephiroth never fidgets.

“Angeal? Are you alright?”

No, he’s not alright. Forget the tea. He’s going to need something stronger after this conversation. “So… You think Jenova might be returning because you were feeling possessive of Cloud?”

“I haven’t felt that way since Jenova.”

“But you’re not feeling any destructive or genocidal urges?”

“No.”

“And you don’t want to hurt Cloud again?”

“Definitely not.”

Angeal sighs and runs a hand down his face. Luckily, he has some SOLDIER-proof liquor in his apartment – he was going to need it. How could somebody so smart still be so dumb at the same time? “Sephiroth. That’s not Jenova.”

“Oh?”

“That’s called having a crush. May I remind you, though, that he is still only 14 years old.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would totally play Chocobo Quest III and Tonberry Kart.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Cloud arrives at the General’s office as usual, coming to attention in front of the man’s desk. Instead of straightening his paperwork then leading them to the SOLDIER training grounds like he had every other time, Sephiroth just stares at him, deep in thought. As the silent inspection continues, Cloud feels his face darken more and more. Subtly glancing down, he’s relieved to find that he is, in fact, wearing pants. He really has no desire to reenact his nightmares of being in front of the General in nothing but his underwear. Even if the man didn’t ban him from the SOLDIER program on the spot, he doubts his embarrassment would allow him to continue with his training.

Body starting to shake from trying to stand still for so long, he finally gains the courage to ask, “I-is there something wrong, sir?” He really hopes that there’s nothing on his face, otherwise he would have several choice words for his roommates for not bothering to warn him.

Sephiroth sighs, a far-off look in his eyes. “I’m merely thinking about something that Angeal said.” And the man falls silent again, not bothering to elaborate any further.

“Oh?” While definitely curious, Cloud doesn’t ask why that involves staring at him – he would be far too embarrassed, not to mention that that might cross into the territory of insubordination. Instead, he hopes his simple vocalization is enough to convince the General to offer up his reasoning. If this was Garrett, Cloud would only have to remain quiet and the teen would spill all of his secrets. And he means _all_ of them. But going from their earlier stare-off, he gets the feeling the same can’t be said for Sephiroth.

“No need to worry about it now.” Shaking his head slightly – so slightly that Cloud isn’t convinced that he didn’t just imagine it – the haze lifts from the General’s eyes. A hint of contrition now in slitted-green, Sephiroth gestures to the seat in front of his desk. “My apologies, Cloud. Please have a seat. There’s something I wish to discuss with you before we continue your training.”

Finally relaxing from attention, Cloud slides into the proffered chair and tries his best to control his racing thoughts. What did the General want to discuss? Was it bad? Did he finally realize that Cloud was nothing special? Would he throw him away like everybody in Nibelheim? _You’re just a loser, bird brain, no wonder your dad left!_

“Relax, Cloud.” Jerking himself from his thoughts and bad memories, Cloud looks up to see concern on Sephiroth’s face – abject terror no doubt entirely visible on his own. “You have done nothing wrong. On the contrary, you have far exceeded my expectations.” Cloud tries not to blush again with the praise, but fails miserably. How long had he yearned to hear those exact words not just from the General, but from _anybody_? “I wish to change up your training some. I would like you to get experience fighting monsters. To that end I’ve reserved the Combat Simulator on the 63rd floor – we’ll be training there from now on.”

From now on? Didn’t anybody else need it? “Is it alright for us to use it?” For him to use it, that is. Sephiroth could probably do whatever he wanted, but Cloud had never had access that high up before – the main elevators only going up to the 59th floor.

The General smiles like his concerns are unfounded. “Of course. The President has approved everything.”

“The P-president?” Cloud stutters out, half-sure he was hearing things. He has absolutely no idea what the President has to do with this, but the mysterious voice inside him insists that the man can’t be trusted. Shaking his head, he tries to dispel the odd thoughts – the President had done nothing but good things since succeeding his father. He idly wonders if this was somehow caused by breakfast this morning. He had heard about certain foods having hallucinogenic effects.

“Yes. President Rufus has expressed interest in your continued training.”

He should have known that meeting that talking dog-lion yesterday was a sign that things were about to stop making sense again. And in the worst possible way. If Johnson found out that not only were the 1sts paying attention to him but that the President himself was ‘interested’ in his training… Nope, stop thinking about that right now.

Following blindly behind Sephiroth, Cloud tries to devote his remaining operational brain cells to figuring out why the President of all people would be invested in his training. He was only one cadet and he wasn’t even that impressive. Except maybe with magic, if Commander Rhapsodos was to be believed. Hmm, maybe that was it. SOLDIER only had one devoted magic user. Gaining another would probably be something that the President would be eager for.

Before he realizes it, they’re exiting into a very posh-looking lounge on the 63rd floor – when had they even gotten onto the elevator? Leather couches and large flat-screen TVs surround them, the words ‘RECREATIONAL FACILITY’ in big, glowing letters above. When they come upon a cafeteria, Cloud has to stop and stare. Plants, which are so hard to find in Midgar, line the walls and act as centerpieces for the tables. There’s another flat-screen TV near the windows and then the largest tree Cloud has ever seen encased in glass in the very center of the room. No doubt about it, this cafeteria is laughably nicer than the cadet one Cloud is used to.

Not allowing him the time to gawk properly, Sephiroth guides him up a flight of stairs and to a glowing dome that can only be the simulator. Once inside, the General fiddles with the control panel in the middle for a moment and then the simulation room dissolves in a flurry of light, replaced instead with what looks a great deal like the training grounds outside.

Sephiroth starts him off with several laps around the simulated training grounds, sword strapped to his back as usual. While still exhausting, Cloud’s pleased to find that it seems to be getting easier. He at least isn’t as out of breath as he normally is. Then, the main part of training begins – fighting monsters. When Sephiroth messes with the control panel this time, a single Wererat appears in front of them, fangs bared and claws primed.

“Alright, Cloud. We’ll start easy for now and work our way from there.”

“Yes, sir.” Cloud tries not to be disappointed. Just one Wererat? This wouldn’t be much of a fight – he could kill a Wererat with a rifle with his eyes closed. Shouldn’t be that much more difficult with a sword.

Readying his weapon, he drops into a fighting stance as Sephiroth moves off to the side and out of the way. He doesn’t have to wait long, the Wererat launching itself at him with a snarl. He stares at the monster, unmoving, as he holds for the right moment. Finally within reach, Cloud shifts and slashes upwards, expecting to cut the Wererat in half. Except he doesn’t. Sword barely grazing the monster, Cloud stops and stares in disbelief. That should have worked. Unable to even think of how to fix his mistake, the Wererat is on him, sharp teeth sinking into his arm.

Releasing a pained yelp, Cloud falls backward onto the floor, Wererat still firmly in place. Sword long since lost, he flails his assaulted arm wildly, hoping that somehow that will dislodge the monster. Before he can come up with a better tactic since shaking is most definitely **not** working, the Wererat is disappearing much like the floor had before.

Looking up, Cloud sees Sephiroth turn away from the control panel and head back in his direction. The materia in the General’s hand glows for a second, then warmth floods through Cloud as he watches in morbid fascination as the puncture wounds on his arm stitch themselves back together. He at least knows from his Monster Theory class that Wererat bites aren’t poisonous. So, that’s one thing he has going for him, even if he still was just a screw-up.

Dropping his gaze to the floor, humiliated, he sees black boots enter his field of vision. “Are you alright, Cloud?” He deludes himself into thinking Sephiroth sounds concerned, but he’s smart enough not to look up. Not after that pathetic display. Not after he was bested by a measly _Wererat_.

“Yes, sir.” He answers, biting back the shame, hoping that his voice sounds even. Even though he’s pretty sure he himself has started to shake.

What was he thinking? He was such an **idiot**. Everybody back in Nibelheim was right about him. _Johnson_ was right about him. He really would amount to nothing.

“-oud.”

_Don’t worry. They’ll see you for who you are soon enough._ He chokes back a hysterical laugh. Turns out Johnson was right all along. It certainly didn’t take long. So much for showing the other cadet up.

“ _Cloud._ ”

He tenses, but other than that stays frozen in place. How could he face Sephiroth now? The General had said that he had far exceeded his expectations before, but the Wererat fiasco probably completely negated that.

**_“Run, Cloud… Run away.”_ **

That’s right. That’s all he was ever good at – running away. Running from his bullies, from his problems, from his failures. It would no doubt be the best option now. No way would Sephiroth be able to look at him the same way again. Not when he was such a terrible excuse for a cadet. Perhaps if he kept his head down and made himself as small and unassuming as possible (the only time his stature would come in handy), then maybe none of the other cadets would notice that he had been tossed aside. Maybe he could avoid the taunts about how he should have known it wouldn’t last. That Sephiroth would have always found somebody better. Of course, Cloud doesn’t think he’ll be able to handle the shame when Sephiroth does actually find somebody else. Especially if that somebody turns out to be Johnson. Perhaps accepting the humiliation of returning to Nibelheim empty-handed was the least painful choice now.

So lost in his self-deprecating thoughts, he doesn’t notice the hand on his face until it’s lifting his chin up, forcing him to make eye contact with its owner. “Cloud, _breathe_.” Sephiroth says, now kneeling in front of him.

Sucking in a harsh breath, Cloud bitterly realizes that he had stopped breathing. In front of the General. Not to mention he was still shaking and probably looked like he wanted to cry. Fantastic. Having a breakdown in front of Zack was one thing. But Sephiroth? His idol? Could things get any worse?

“Hey.” Sephiroth’s voice is soft, gaze still fixed on him. “I’m not planning to give up on you just because you made a mistake. Everybody makes mistakes.” Something like a pained grimace passes over the man’s face, not that Cloud knows what to make of it. “Even I do.”

Cloud finds that very hard to believe, the man was practically perfect. _Nobody’s perfect, little Stormcloud_ , his mother’s voice rings through his head. While normally said to cheer him up when he had made a fool of himself – falling flat on his face in front of Tifa had **not** been fun – he guesses it could apply to Sephiroth, too. The man’s perceived perfection could just be a product of Shinra’s propaganda. They probably wouldn’t advertise any mistake that their beloved General made. More concerning, though, is he has absolutely no idea why that thought brings flashes of fire and smoke to mind.

Before he can focus more on the strange images, though, a leather-clad thumb is running a smooth arc over his cheek. Sephiroth’s hand then falls to his elbow and the man pulls him to his feet, Cloud’s eyes wide and heart trapped in his throat from the unexpected contact. Releasing his hold on Cloud, Sephiroth regards him for a moment before asking, “Do you know what you did wrong?”

He almost answers ‘ _Everything?’,_ but figures that that’s not what the General is looking for. Instead, he opts for, “I swung too soon, sir.”

“Why did you swing too soon?”

“Because I misjudged the distance between me and the monster.” Because he thought his limbs were longer. If only.

Sephiroth sighs. “You need to take your own limitations into account. You’re not as tall as the other SOLDIERs.” Cloud pulls a face at the General’s words. He doesn’t need to be reminded that he’s short. It was a source of constant annoyance for him. Sephiroth chuckles at the face he’s making and continues, “There’s nothing wrong with that. You just need to keep in mind that your reach won’t be as long. You won’t be able to pull off the same stunts.”

It’s Cloud’s turn to sigh. “Yes, sir.”

“If you miss, just remember – whatever you do, don’t freeze.” The look on Sephiroth’s face is a mix of serious and grim. “You were very lucky that we started with a Wererat. If it had been something else, your injuries could have been far more dire. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

Sephiroth nods. “Good. Shall we try again?”

Cloud takes a deep breath to ground himself and lets it out slowly. “Yes, sir.”

* * *

“I know you said Cloud had self-esteem issues before, but I didn’t realize it was this bad.” Sephiroth swirls the wine around in his glass lazily, addressing Zack across the table. “He misjudged the distance between him and his enemy today and the Wererat he was fighting decided his arm would make a nice snack.” Zack lets out a pained hiss as Sephiroth continues. “Afterwards, he totally shut down. He wouldn’t say anything, wouldn’t even look at me. He was trembling and he looked like he wanted to cry. Like I was getting ready to get rid of him.”

The teen frowns. “That’s the thing. I don’t remember it being this bad. He was definitely unsure of himself and was completed humiliated that he never made SOLDIER, but I’ve never seen him look so absolutely distraught before.”

Angeal hums, back turned to them. If he wasn’t cooking, his arms would no doubt be crossed over his chest. Sephiroth’s not sure what his fellow SOLDIER is making, but it smells fantastic. And would no doubt taste just as good. This was why Angeal was their designated chef. Not to mention that Sephiroth was barred from cooking ever again. Making food taste good was never covered in Hojo’s ‘upbringing’. Genesis and Angeal had been quite horrified when they discovered that he only viewed eating as simply an efficient way to get the required nutrients to survive. They had rather quickly made it their mission to rehabilitate him – and he was forever grateful for it. “But you met him when he was older last time, right?” The man asks, not taking his eyes off the food. At Zack’s sad “Yes…”, he continues. “Maybe he learned how to deal with things better by then.”

“Or mask it better.” Genesis counters somberly, leaning on the counter next to Angeal.

Zack groans and slumps bonelessly onto the table. “ _Johnson_ certainly isn’t helping things…”

“It’s a shame he does not remember. He certainly had no problem dealing with bullies when he was an adult.” Sephiroth knew this from personal experience, being the man’s greatest enemy and all.

Genesis snorts. “From what I hear, you gave him _plenty_ motivation to take care of his bullies.”

Sephiroth grimaces, but doesn’t respond – the man certainly had a point. Burning Nibelheim to the ground would have been incentive enough, but then he had also killed Aerith. Not to mention that him treating the man like a puppet certainly didn’t make things any better.

Zack pulls himself back up from the table with a groan, no doubt thinking about the ‘motivation’ Sephiroth had provided – he had had a front-row seat in Nibelheim, after all. “Do you think he’ll ever remember?”

Setting his glass down, Sephiroth leans back in his chair. “It’s hard to say. I believe his body remembers at least. If he was an adult again, he would have no doubt sliced that Wererat clean in two.”

Genesis pushes himself off the counter and gracefully slides into one of the open chairs at the table. “I’m not surprised. I mean, we already know that he retained his magical ability.” Hope starts shining in Zack’s eyes until Genesis speaks again, voicing the same thought running through Sephiroth’s head. “But that doesn’t mean that he himself will actually remember. If his trauma the first time around was that great, it’s possible his subconscious is protecting him and he’ll never remember.” It’s a realistic assumption, but that doesn’t stop Zack from immediately deflating, throwing himself dramatically onto the table again.

“Well, assuming the worst-case scenario and Cloud never remembers,” Angeal starts, reducing the heat to a simmer and turning to face the table. “We’ll have to work on building up his confidence, otherwise he very well may succumb to mako poisoning again.” And that definitely would not help with Jenova.

* * *

The following day, Cloud finds himself back in the Combat Simulator. This time with Commander Rhapsodos. The man had said that they would be working with status ailments that day, which only affect living beings – it was probably better if they didn’t use any of the other SOLDIERs as guinea pigs, they would not thank him for that.

Once situated, Rhapsodos casts a spell and a wall of light appears, glowing, in front of Cloud. When it disappears in the next second, the SOLDIER explains, “That was Shield. It will nullify any and all physical damage. Don’t want you getting hurt while we practice.” Cloud wishes he had had that yesterday. It would have at least saved him the pain that came along with the utter humiliation. More than that, though, he hopes Sephiroth didn’t mention the incident to the Commander. But If he did, Rhapsodos doesn’t chide him for his blunder.

Like Sephiroth, Rhapsodos summons a Wererat for them to train with. The man slips an orb of materia into his hands, saying, “Poison. Let’s see what that does.” The monster still hasn’t moved from the spot that it was simulated into as Cloud casts. A cloud of dark green smog appears around the Wererat and as it fades, the creature convulses as if hurt.

Its attention is on Cloud then, as if aware of who had attacked it. Unlike the one from the previous day, though, this one approaches slowly, cautiously, aware of the damage that he could cause. As it stalks closer, Cloud notices small green bubbles the Wererat seems to secrete, the monster flinching in apparent pain every few seconds.

Pleased, Rhapsodos swaps the poison materia out for a new one. “Time materia. This will be a bit more difficult.” Cloud nods, trying to appear confident as the Commander continues, “There are three different types of time spells you can cast with this, in progressing order – Haste, Slow, and Stop. I want you to cast Slow on the Wererat. You will need to provide enough energy so you don’t cast Haste, but not so much that you go over Slow and cast Stop. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.” Cloud at least sounds sure even if he doesn’t entirely feel it. He really wants to do this right and maybe make up some for the shitshow that was yesterday. Focusing on the materia in his hand, he starts feeding energy into it. He soon feels a buzz, which he figures must be Haste.

The Wererat must realize that Cloud is about to cast another spell, abandoning its wary approach and outright charging. Before it can make it more than five steps, though, Cloud feels the second buzz. He releases the energy without thinking, a clock face appearing around the monster, the hand winding back counterclockwise. In the next instant, the Wererat’s frenzied gait turns ridiculously lethargic. It reminds Cloud of playing with his mom when he was no older than 4 or 5 – his mom chasing after him in exaggerated slow motion as he ran around the house on short, chubby legs, laughing hysterically at her antics. He can still hear her voice in his head, her words drawn out much like her pace – _I’m gonna get you, little Stormcloud!_ Gaia, he misses her so much.

“Wonderful, Cloud.” He turns to see Rhapsodos smiling down at him. “Think you can do Stop this time?”

Cloud nods, already activating the materia once again. Slow was definitely the more difficult one, he shouldn’t have a problem with Stop. Waiting for the third buzz, he casts again – another clock face appearing around the Wererat. The hand on this one starts to rewind again before stopping altogether. The monster, which had continued its decelerated charge, immediately freezes in place – one hind leg in the air, hands and claws outstretched in front of it. Its eyes are the only part of it that are still moving, jumping back and forth between Cloud and Commander Rhapsodos frantically.

Cloud tries not to look too much into the emotion showing in the SOLDIER’s eyes as the man swaps out materia again. It looks a lot like pride, but he doesn’t want to get his (or the Commander’s) hopes up. “Binding materia,” Rhapsodos says, “We’ll only worry with the first tier of this one.”

Nodding again, Cloud casts with the first buzz and watches as the Wererat collapses onto the floor, snoring away. Huh. Cloud didn’t know that Wererats snored. If the strange combination of whistling, squeaking, and grumbling that came from the downed monster was snoring, that is.

“Alright, one more.” Rhapsodos states, exchanging materia one last time. “This one is called Transform. Let’s try for the second tier, ok?”

Already accustomed to the process, Cloud casts without thinking and blue smoke covers the prone form of the Wererat. If he had paid more attention to the name of the materia, he might have been prepared for the sight that meets him after the smoke clears. As it is, he stares, mouth agape, at the toad that has taken the monster’s place. Unaware of its new amphibian body, the Wererat-toad sleeps through the whole thing, it’s snoring now more of a croaking.

Rhapsodos has him cast the spell again – Cloud doesn’t question him, though he’s not entirely sure what use casting Toad on a toad would actually be. When the smoke clears this time, he’s once again surprised – this time, though, because the toad has returned to a whistling, squeaking, grumbling Wererat. Weird.

“You are most definitely _beloved by the Goddess_ , little bird.” Noting his confusion, Rhapsodos continues, “Casting status ailments doesn’t always work. There’s always the chance the ailment won’t take effect – especially with unmastered materia like these. The stronger your magical ability, the better chance you have.” Rhapsodos gazes at him fondly then. “And everything you tried succeeded.”

Cloud can’t help the hope that blooms in his chest – maybe he wasn’t such a screw-up after all. This definitely helps his flagging confidence from the day before. Well… whatever confidence he did have to begin with.

“Sephiroth better be careful or I might actually steal you away from him.”

Cloud feels the heat rush to his face. Steal him away? From Sephiroth? How was he supposed to respond to that? “Uh… Please don’t fight,” he manages to get out through his embarrassment.

Genesis chuckles, a little wryly. “Don’t worry, little bird. I’ve learned my lesson.” Cloud has no idea what to make of that either, but Rhapsodos doesn’t give him a chance to think about it, continuing with a smirk, “Have you ever heard about the time that Sephiroth shredded the Sister Ray cannon to ribbons?”

“W-what?” Cloud stutters, face no doubt a mix of complete shock and awe.

Rhapsodos laughs again at his reaction and says, “He, Angeal, and I used to sneak into the SOLDIER Simulation Room when the 2nds weren’t around. One day we were sparring in a simulated Junon and I may have provoked him a bit too much.” Genesis winces at the memory, bringing a hand up to clutch his shoulder. “He might not look like it, but Sephiroth has quite the penchant for property damage.”

“Oh, he definitely looks it.” Cloud responds entirely on instinct, bewildered by the visions he sees of the Shinra Building falling at him. Realizing what he said entirely too late, his face pales and he turns wide eyes on the Commander as he pleads, “Please don’t tell him I said that.”

Rhapsodos just smirks again, looking entirely too pleased. “Not to worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had absolutely no idea until writing this chapter that casting Toad/Mini on a character that was already affected with that status ailment would cure them.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cloud finally meets Aerith!

On Cloud’s next day off, Zack drags him to the Sector 5 slums. “You have to meet my girlfriend! I know you two will love each other!” The teen had said, looking so excited that Cloud didn’t have it in him to correct him. Couldn’t bring himself to let the other know that nobody could love him. A small voice in the back of his head tells him that Zack seems rather fond of him, so maybe his girlfriend will, too. But he silences the voice before it can get his hopes up.

When they round the bend and Cloud finally sees where Zack’s girlfriend lives, he can’t help the amazement. Can’t help the breathless “Wow…” that passes his lips, his eyes wide. The house itself is made of wood with a red roof and appears to have actually been constructed properly, unlike the makeshift dwellings of the rest of the slums. But it’s not the most surprising sight. Instead, the sheer amount of greenery throws Cloud for a loop – he’s never seen this much green in Midgar before. Definitely not in the slums. And definitely not in one place.

As they walk down the stairs and cross over the bridge towards the girl’s house, Cloud gawks at everything around him. He’s never been to this part of the slums before – he would have remembered – but as he looks at the flowers, the waterfall, and the fish swimming carefree in the pond to the side, he can’t shake the feeling that he’s been here before.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Zack says from somewhere next to him. Far too absorbed in his thoughts, Cloud can only manage to nod numbly as they reach the front door and Zack knocks, signaling their arrival.

The sound of rushed footsteps can be heard and then the door is flung open to reveal bright green eyes staring straight at him. The girl in front of him wears a light pink dress covered with a darker pink jacket. Her light brown hair is tied in a two-strand braid, some left free to frame her face. As with the scenery outside, she feels bafflingly familiar.

The girl gasps and then her face lights up with the brightest smile he’s ever seen – brighter even than any of Zack’s. “You must be Cloud!” When she clasps her hands in front of her as if in prayer, an overwhelming urge to cry washes over Cloud, images of a giant conch shell and glowing white trees flashing through his mind. Unlike with Zack, though, he manages to control himself, blinking several times and biting the inside of his cheek to hold the tears at bay. If she notices the strained look on his face, she’s kind enough not to say anything.

“Uh… yeah.” He answers lamely, not yet recovered enough from the unexplainable grief to be more articulate. Luckily, she doesn’t seem to mind.

“I’m Aerith!” She provides, before grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him past the threshold and into the house. Once inside, he thanks whatever deity listening that he was able to keep himself from crying – they are most definitely not alone. Two people are already seated at the table in the center of the room, a porcelain teapot between them. Cloud assumes that the older woman must be the Aerith’s mother. The man, on the other hand, Cloud recognizes as the Wutaian Turk from earlier – Tseng, he had said.

“Mr. Tseng is here, too?” Cloud asks before he can stop himself – his surprise so great that he temporarily forgets that he normally wouldn’t say anything in this situation, not without being spoken to first. Not when hoping that he’ll somehow make a good impression.

**_“Maybe he thought I could be the greatest SOLDIER yet!”_ **

Cloud stares in confusion at Aerith. The voice in his head had sounded a great deal like hers, but nothing about her screams SOLDIER. Then again, he probably has no room to talk himself, he realizes a little bitterly, short as he is.

Aerith luckily does not notice his internal struggle, having already turned towards Tseng. “Tseng is a family friend.” This does nothing to help his bewilderment, something about her explanation just feeling off. He doesn’t say anything, though – who is he to contradict someone he had only just met?

The Turk regards him, a small, pleased smile on his face. “I’m honored that you remember my name, Cadet Strife.”

Cloud can’t help but stare at the man, unbelieving. Tseng was pleased that a cadet remembered his name? Would things ever make sense again? At least the Turk doesn’t seem to expect a response, Cloud definitely would not be able to show any semblance of eloquence right now.

“I hope that my subordinates haven’t caused you any more trouble.”

“Uh… No, sir.” That’s right – Reno and Rude. Cloud had been rather disrespectful then, as loath as he was to admit it. Granted, Rude totally deserved his ire, blushing over Tifa like that, but Tseng hadn’t done anything wrong. He supposes Reno hadn’t either, as infuriating as the man was. Perhaps he should apologize – that’s what his mother would tell him anyway. Well, at least it’s Tseng and not Reno. He’s not sure he could stomach apologizing to the red-head. Running a hand through his hair, he bows his head slightly, trying to imitate the Turk’s gesture from the other day. “I’m sorry for my temper the other day.” He almost apologizes for being short, but stops himself just in time – he doesn’t want to give anybody the chance to respond that he’s always short.

Tseng nods his head in return, smile still on his face. “Please think nothing of it. I’m already fully aware of how trying Reno and Rude can be.” He smirks. “Especially together.”

Something of an awkward silence follows, Cloud unsure of what to do next. Before he can decide whether he’s supposed to say anything, Aerith is stealing the spotlight again.

“Oh, I know!” She exclaims, clapping her hands and coming to stand in front of Cloud again, effectively redirecting the conversation. “I promised to gather some flowers for Leaf House, but Zack is useless at that.” Ignoring Zack’s cry of “Hey!”, she continues, “You’ll help me, right, Cloud?”

“Uh, what?”

“Great!” Aerith claps again. “Let me go get my baskets!” And she turns and hurries up the stairs to the second level of the house.

Cloud turns wide eyes on the remaining occupants of the room, not sure in the slightest how to deal with this new development. Tseng is absolutely no help, one hand raised to cover his mouth, looking entirely too amused by Aerith’s antics and Cloud’s absolute confusion.

Turning his attention to Zack next, the other teen provides no further assistance, instead shrugging and saying, “I’ve just learned to roll with it.”

Aerith’s mother is his last resort, but when he looks to her, she just sighs. “Aerith is quite the handful, isn’t she?” Cloud’s not sure if she expects a response, so he keeps his mouth shut.

As quickly as she left, Aerith is back, two empty baskets in tow. “Here you go,” she says, offering one of the baskets to a still overwhelmed Cloud. He accepts it dumbly, brain on auto-pilot. Smiling, she grabs his hand and tugs him after her again, this time outside the house.

Stopping just past the threshold, she gestures to the garden in front of her. “Ok, pick whatever you like.”

“Anything?”

She nods, eyes crinkling happily. “Yup! I just know you’ll have an eye for this sort of thing!”

On the contrary, Cloud has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. But like with Zack, she just looks so happy that he can’t contradict her. He doesn’t want to disappoint her. Doesn’t want to fail her. _Again_ , something deep inside him supplies, but he ignores that like all the other confusing voices.

Picking a path at random, Cloud heads over the bridge to his left. Not entirely sure what to look for, he walks further down the path, glancing around him as he goes, Aerith and Zack following silently behind. As he comes to the bottom of a set of stone steps, right before another bridge, he notices a bunch of flowers on either side of him – he supposes they’ll do.

Crouching in front of the yellow flowers on the right, he turns to Aerith for confirmation. “These ok?” He asks hesitantly. She had said that he could choose anything, but he was still worried that he would choose wrong somehow.

“Great choice!” She beams at him as she kneels down next to him. “They’re my favorite! They symbolize reunion.” Cloud tries to subtly shake away the strange image of black-robed men at that thought – he doesn’t have time for that now. “Lovers used to give these when they were reunited.”

After they’ve collected enough of the yellow flowers, he turns his attention to the ones on the other side of the path. Gesturing towards the white ones with yellow centers, he asks, “How about these ones?”

“I told you you have a good eye for this!” Cloud rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed with the praise, as Aerith continues her tale. “People used to give these to declare their loyalty to one another.” Cloud almost considers giving one to Tifa, but knows he would never build up the courage for that.

Finished with the white flowers, too, Cloud notices what looks like green, fuzzy spikes next to them. He likes them, thinks they look cool, so he points to them next. “And those?”

“Foxtails? Nice! That’ll definitely take them by surprise.”

Take them by surprise? Did he choose wrong? It certainly sounds like he did. Aerith probably doesn’t want to hurt his feelings by telling him he made a bad choice. Bringing his still outstretched hand to his chest, he looks at Aerith apprehensively. “It’s ok. I can choose something else…”

Aerith clasps his hand between both of hers before he can say anything else, cutting off his downward spiral of uncertainty. “No, this is wonderful! I love it!”

* * *

When Cloud discovers that Aerith grows everything in the garden herself, he can’t help himself. He has to ask. After telling her how amazing everything is – his mother had raised him right – he says, “Do you sell flowers on the plate?” Perhaps she was who he was thinking of the other day. With flowers as beautiful as these, people would definitely talk.

Sharing a look with Zack that Cloud can’t quite make out, Aerith shakes her head. “I only sell them in the slums currently.”

“Oh,” he says, looking at his feet as they walk towards Leaf House, or the orphanage as Aerith had kindly supplied. “I thought I had heard something about somebody selling flowers in Sector 8.” This is why he normally keeps to himself; he doesn’t like being wrong.

There’s a delighted sound from next to him, then Aerith is linking arms with him. When he looks up in surprise – of course she was taller than him, too – he notices a twinkle in her eye. “That’s a fabulous idea! Where do you think I should sell?”

“Oh, uh…” Cloud shrinks in on himself slightly, not used to so much attention. Especially not from a girl. “Maybe in front of Loveless Theater? There’s sure to be a lot of people there.” That’s at least where he thought the other flower girl went. He kinda feels bad for directing Aerith there, too, but Midgar could use more flowers. Besides, he had never actually seen the other flower girl, so maybe she didn’t sell there all the time.

If possible, Aerith’s smile grows wider. “You’re absolutely right! I should keep you around more often!”

Zack laughs from behind them and then a hand lands on Cloud’s shoulder. “See, Aerith? I told you you would like him!”

“I sure do!”

Flustered, Cloud doesn’t know what to make of both of their words nor the fact that Aerith’s arm is still looped through his. Just as well, for when Aerith turns them towards a brick building, Cloud gets the feeling that they’ve reached their destination.

The orphanage is a large, rather impressive building for the slums, but it’s definitely seen its better days. In front of the building are a couple makeshift tables that are already occupied by children learning how to read. To Cloud’s surprise, one of the teens he had met in the Sector 7 slums – Biggs – is there as well, smiling fondly at the children.

As if feeling eyes on him, Biggs looks up and locks eyes with Cloud, shock falling over his face. Telling the children he’ll be right back, he leaves the table and crosses to stand in front of Cloud. Looking rather uncomfortable, Biggs rubs an arm before apologizing again. “Hey, man. Sorry for confusing you the other day.”

“Ohh… It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” Cloud almost leaves it at that, but he can’t help himself. He’s not normally the one to start a conversation, but Biggs looks so sad that he wants to cheer him up. Zack must be rubbing off on him. “Do you come to Sector 5 often, Biggs?”

Biggs stares at him with wide eyes before a dazed smile finds its way onto his face. “You remember my name.”

“Ah, yeah.” How could he forget? The events of that day in Sector 7 had been so unnerving that he doesn’t think he’ll forget any of their names any time soon. Not that he would say that to Biggs, not when the teen had finally stopped looking so down.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Biggs answers his earlier question, the smile never leaving his face. “Right. Well, I volunteer here. I help out with the kids.”

“Oh, right. Folia said you were great with kids. She really looks up to you.” The words are out of his mouth before Cloud even has the chance to think. It’s Biggs’s completely shocked face that makes him realize that he doesn’t actually know a Folia. Well, crap.

Entirely embarrassed now, Cloud is thankfully saved by the appearance of the Housemother. The woman accepts the baskets of flowers gratefully, gushing about how wonderful they are and trying, in vain, to reimburse Aerith for them. Aerith insists that it’s no trouble at all and promises to return later to pick up the baskets.

* * *

As he watches Cloud and his friends leave, Biggs can’t help the smile spreading over his face. If things went the same as last time, Folia wouldn’t start volunteering at Leaf House for another few years. “The Merc will be back with us soon enough.” Returning to the children’s side, he makes a mental note to tell Jessie and Wedge later – they would be ecstatic. If he’s distracted for the rest of the lesson, he can hardly be blamed.

* * *

As Aerith drags him through Wall Market, Cloud can’t help but gawk at all the different vendors. One stand offers glowing concoctions in all colors called ‘Potion Juice’, the barker yelling something about “a bubblicious blend of fantastic flavor and luminescence.” Another sells hot buns filled with honey that smell and look amazing. His appetite is soon forgotten, though, when they pass _Mr. Monster Burger_ and he notices that the worker there is preparing a sub with what appears to be a giant monster eye and tongue smack dab in the middle of it. No, thank you.

Before Cloud can check out any more of the questionable refreshments on display, Aerith is tugging him into a clothing store – _The Boutique_ , the sign out front says. Once inside, she starts looking around the clothing racks, still attached to him. As Zack suggested earlier, he’s trying to just roll with it.

“Oh! What about this?” Aerith asks, holding up a purple dress for him to see.

“Uh… Looks nice?” Or at least, Cloud guesses it looks nice. Even if he had some luck with the flowers earlier, he really doubts that he has an eye for this sort of thing. Aerith would probably have better luck having another girl come shopping with her.

“I know! And I bet you would look super cute in it, too!”

**_“He always said that just once, he’d like to dress up like a girl.”_ **

Wait. What?

Did she really just say what he thought she said? Waving his free arm in front of him in protest, he hopes that the terrified look on his face is enough to deter her. “W-what? No, Aerith.”

Luckily, Zack chooses that moment to come to his defense, slinging a comforting arm over Cloud’s shoulders and gently prying him from Aerith’s hold. “No dresses, Aerith. You’re scaring him.”

Aerith sighs. “Fine. You’re no fun.”

While Aerith continues browsing, Zack pulls Cloud close to say, “Aerith’s not that bad. She’s just very fond of teasing. Give her some time.”

Cloud shakes his head. “She seems nice.” Strange as it may be, Cloud finds that he likes her. She seems gentle and she had been kind to him. She didn’t look like she had it in her to be malicious. He was still a little wary due to past experience, but something about her just felt right. Sort of like how Zack just felt right.

“Alright. If you won’t try on that dress, then you have to get these!” Aerith had returned, showing them the next article of clothing that had caught her interest. Zack snorts and Cloud levels her with the most deadpan expression he can manage. While perhaps not malicious, she definitely has a mischievous side to her.

In her hands was a pair of boxers. A pair of Chocobo-print boxers.

Groaning, Cloud tries to change her mind. “Aerith. I get enough Chocobo comparisons as it is.” His hair was more than enough for that. If anybody found out that he owned anything remotely Chocobo-print, he would never live it down.

“Oh, come on. They’re cute!” She says, but thankfully doesn’t push him further, going back to browsing and blessedly leaving him out of it for the remainder of their time there.

When they leave, he somehow finds himself with the Chocobo-print boxers anyway. He doubts that he’ll ever really be able to say no to Aerith. He’s just glad that Zack was there to distract her from making him try on that dress. The thought of dresses, though, has him cursing his rather disturbed mind for conjuring up visions of him in drag, dancing with a rather flamboyant-looking man. What was **wrong** with him?

Once outside, Zack runs off, distracted by a vendor across the street. When he returns, Cloud sees that he has a box of popcorn with him. Offering some to them, he says, “Chocobo bean popcorn. Isn’t it so cute?”

As much as he hates being compared to a Chocobo himself, Cloud has to admit that the popcorn itself is cute, each piece resembling a Chocobo. According to Zack, the kernels themselves are Chocobo-shaped and maintain that shape after popping. Interesting.

They munch as they continue exploring, stopping here and there to look around. Once finished with their snack, Zack insists that they try out an arcade. “When we’re done, we can get something to eat at KFC!” Cloud has never heard of the place – they definitely don’t have one in Nibelheim – but Aerith doesn’t seem to mind and Zack had yet to be wrong, so he just nods in agreement.

Inside the arcade, Zack leads Cloud over to a motorcycle game, throwing a simple “Race ya!” over his shoulder. He’s never ridden a motorcycle before, but when they start, everything just feels so oddly familiar. As if he had done this a thousand times. Stranger yet, though, is that his motion sickness doesn’t seem to be bothering him. Whether it’s because it’s a game or because he’s the one driving, he’s not sure. But he’s definitely not complaining.

When they finish, both of them are shocked to find that Cloud has won. By a very sizable lead. “Wow, Spike. When did you get so good?” Zack asks, amazement written all over his face.

Before Cloud can answer that he has absolutely no idea, Aerith is clapping. “Yay, Cloud!! You were amazing!” If Cloud winning was surreal, somebody cheering for him was even more so.

Pouting, Zack turns hurt, puppy-dog eyes on his girlfriend. “Shouldn’t you be cheering for me?”

“Why would I? Cloud’s the one who won.” Aerith responds, wagging a finger in his face.

“Ouch.”

“I’m sorry.” The pout on Zack’s face makes Cloud feel like a terrible person. He wasn’t trying to show anybody up. He doesn’t want Zack to get mad at him for winning. And he definitely doesn’t want the teen to be upset that Aerith was cheering for him rather than her boyfriend. Maybe he should throw the next race. Zack would still want to be friends if Cloud wasn’t the only one winning, right?

As if sensing his inner turmoil, Zack is at his side in a second, ruffling his spikes like Cloud had so quickly become accustomed to. “No worries, Spike! Aerith’s right, you were amazing!” The teen says, smiling down at him. And as though he had read Cloud’s mind, he points a finger at him. “And no letting me win, ok? No need to worry about me – I’m not a sore loser.”

Cloud smiles back – how had he gotten so lucky? How did somebody like _Zack_ think that he was worthy of his attention? Well, whatever. He’ll take what he can get. “Ok, Zack.”

“That’s my buddy!”

They try a snowboard game next. Once again, Cloud has never been snowboarding before, but that doesn’t stop him from completely smoking Zack. When they finish this time, though, Zack just laughs hard. “Oh man. You have to come with me the next time Kunsel and them want to go to the arcade. You’ll be my secret weapon!”

Before Cloud can ask who Kunsel is or figure out why the name sounds so familiar, Aerith grabs him and pulls him over to a virtual boxing game. There is a console in front of the arena that they use to control their characters. Cloud tries, he really does, but his luck has apparently run out. Aerith absolutely _trounces_ him. He doesn’t even get a hit in. He doesn’t feel the normal shame he would upon losing, though, not when the look on Aerith’s face at winning is so absolutely delighted.

After the arcade, they head to KFC as Zack had suggested and Cloud finally finds out what the letters stand for. One eye twitching, he glares exasperated at the sign, the words _Kalm Fried Chocobo_ staring back at him. Chocobo-shaped popcorn, KFC – both were things that Zack had proposed and Cloud was starting to notice a pattern. The thought that perhaps this was payback for not letting the teen make a Chocobo reference before crosses his mind as he turns an entirely unimpressed look on Zack, the other having the decency to at least look sheepish.

* * *

Tifa barely has time to answer her phone and put it to her ear before Aerith is raving. “ _Tifa! Why didn’t you tell me that Cloud was so cute??”_

“Because you already knew?” It shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise, really. They were both vying for his attention back then.

_“He was an adult then! I never knew he was this adorable as a teenager!”_

Tifa laughs. “You guys have a good time then?”

_“Yeah!”_ Aerith pauses for a moment, then starts again, sadder this time. _“Though, he’s a lot more unsure of himself than I remember.”_

Tifa frowns. “Well, Nibelheim wasn’t exactly kind to him. Having no real friends did a number on his self-confidence.”

_”But you were friends with him.”_

“I was the only one nice to him. But we weren’t exactly friends.” Tifa grits her teeth, trying to swallow past the shame. “I should have done more, Aerith. I should have – “

_“Oh, that’s enough of that.”_ Aerith scolds, cutting her off. _“You were a child. You’ve done so much for him since then. He means everything to you and you to him.”_

Tifa makes a choked, cut-off sound through the tears falling down her face. “I miss him, Aerith. I want him back. He went through so much shit, but I just want him to remember…” She feels absolutely selfish, but she wants her best friend back.

_“I do, too, Tifa. So very much.”_ Aerith agrees, falling silent for a few beats. Then she gasps, as if remembering something important. _“Oh, but Tifa! I think he’s starting to remember! At least subconsciously…”_

Tifa sucks in a harsh breath. “How so?”

_”Well, for starters, he looked like he wanted to cry when he first saw me. Like he almost remembered what had happened.”_

“Or maybe he just knew how much of a troublemaker you would be.” Tifa teases. It feels so good to laugh with Aerith again.

_“Ha. Ha. But then I had him help me pick flowers for Leaf House and he picked the same ones as last time.”_

Tifa doesn’t want to get her hopes up. She really doesn’t. “Aerith. It was probably just a coincidence.”

_“Yeah, but he picked them in the exact. same. order.”_

Ok, that was a little more telling, but it didn’t mean anything. “Aerith…”

_“And get this.”_ Aerith pauses conspiratorially before finishing her thought. _“We saw Biggs there and Cloud told him that Folia really looked up to him.”_

Tifa doesn’t get it. What does that have to do with Cloud remembering? “Why is that important?”

_“Folia won’t start volunteering at Leaf House for another few years.”_

Tifa’s breath exits her in a quick whoosh. “Oh.”

Aerith giggles. _“Exactly. Annnnnd”_ She draws out the last word, building suspense. Totally unnecessary, though – she already had Tifa’s full attention. _“He thought I was selling flowers in front of Loveless Theater on the plate. That’s where we first met. I haven’t started selling on the plate yet, so no way was that a coincidence.”_

A smile spreads across Tifa’s face. Maybe she would have her friend back soon enough.

Aerith claps her hands together excitedly. _“Oh! Biggs looked really sad when he first saw Cloud. Something about confusing Cloud the other day.”_ Tifa can practically hear the grin in the girl’s voice. _“Well, Cloud changed the subject like he was trying to cheer the teen up. Asked him if he came to Sector 5 often.”_

Tifa can’t help the “Aww…” that passes her lips.

_“It was adorable, Tifa! And Biggs looked absolutely smitten! Especially when he realized that Cloud remembered his name!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I kinda just like the idea of Tseng being friends with Aerith and Elmyra now that Hojo and former President Shinra have kicked the bucket.  
> \- The way that Cloud picks the flowers is how I pick them every time I play that chapter in the Remake (I'm a creature of habit...).  
> \- I felt kinda bad for Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge being so sad earlier, so I wanted to give them some hope that Cloud would eventually remember.  
> \- I couldn't help with the dress... I know it was Aerith's idea and Cloud was sort of forced to do it, but I just love how supportive Aerith is of Cloud cross-dressing ("You're so pretty!").  
> \- KFC used to be my sister's favorite, so I was thinking of her when I added that in.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm planning to start posting on Sunday mornings (Eastern Time) from now on. My schedule changed and continuing to post on Thursdays would have been inconvenient. Hope this works for everybody!

As the days pass, Cloud grows more comfortable with his shorter-feeling body and more adept with a sword. Thankfully, he avoids making a repeat performance of that abysmal first day with the Wererat. Now fully capable of slicing one clean in two rather than just daydreaming about it, Sephiroth moves him onto more dangerous monsters. While just as virtual as their Wererat counterpart, they pack far more of a punch in response to any mistakes that he makes – the pain (and Sephiroth’s presence) acting as more than enough motivation for him to close whatever holes in his defense the monsters find their way through.

When Cloud can hold his own against two Nibel Wolves at the same time, he’s thrown once more for a loop by the appearance of Commander Rhapsodos the next day, the man already in the Combat Simulator when he and Sephiroth enter. Rhapsodos lounges on the floor next to the control panel, book open in front of him, whispering the words held within reverently.

“ _There is no hate, only joy. For you are beloved by the Goddess._ ” Rhapsodos must have heard them come in – he wasn’t a 1st Class SOLDIER for nothing – but the man provides no acknowledgement of their presence, head still down, far too enraptured with his recitation. “ _Hero of the dawn, Healer of the worlds. Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul. Pride is lost. Wings stripped away, the end is nigh._ ”

Sephiroth shakes his head, but there’s a smile on his face, so Cloud figures he must be more amused than exasperated. “Hello to you, too, Genesis.” Not waiting nor seeming to expect an answer, the General heads straight for the control panel. As he passes Rhapsodos, Sephiroth nudges the other SOLDIER’s boot with his own, hopping out of range when Rhapsodos tries to kick him back. Laughing at the Commander’s feigned outrage (“Get back here, you!”), Sephiroth presses a few buttons on the panel and then the room is dissolving much like it had every other time before.

Cloud almost has time to devote thought to the fact that two of the strongest SOLDIERs were essentially playing footsies – that was never covered in Shinra's propaganda – but then he takes in the scenery around him. Desolation as far as the eye can see, they’re standing on a rocky outcrop overlooking what appears to be the city of Midgar. Without needing to be told, he knows without a doubt that this is the Midgar Wasteland.

Throat closing up, he can feel himself struggling to breathe as he stands rooted to the spot, something about the place, the hill, so _painfully_ familiar. He can almost make out a hazy figure in front of him. The person’s face is distorted, but there’s no mistaking that hair. “Z-Zack?”

_“Little bird? Sephiroth, what’s happening to him??”_

_“Shit.”_

There’s talking around him, but he only has eyes for the Zack-lookalike. But why was he here? Cloud reaches out a hand, but the other teen is too far away. When Zack turns and starts walking away, Cloud knows that’s it. If he doesn’t stop Zack now, he’ll never see him again. He tries to run after his friend, to stop him, to drag him to safety, anything, but his feet won’t budge. Cursing his absolutely _useless_ body, he tries to plead with the teen, tears running shamelessly down his cheeks. “Z-Zack. Please don’t go… D-don’t leave me…”

_“Little bird!”_

There are hands shaking him now, but Zack is still walking away. Still leaving him. Why can’t the intruder do something helpful like save Zack? He nearly asks exactly that, but then the wasteland and Zack are crumbling away, the training grounds piecing together in front of him.

With Zack no longer marching to what so unbearably felt like his doom, Cloud can finally breathe again, if only raggedly at first. The room and its occupants coming into clear focus once more, he finds Commander Rhapsodos crouched in front of him, hands on his shoulders, Sephiroth hovering nearby.

The twin looks of concern on the SOLDIERs’ faces make him realize, dismayed, that he had done it again. He had made an absolute fool of himself in front of them. Why did this keep happening?? “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened…” He’s rambling, he knows he is, but like his earlier meltdown, he just can’t stop himself.

“Cloud.” The firm voice does far more to stop his racing train of thought than anything he had tried and his jaw closes with an audible click. Staring anxiously back at Rhapsodos, he watches baffled and more than a little embarrassed as the man reaches up and gently wipes away his tears. “Are you alright, little bird?”

He nods, not trusting his mouth to keep him from babbling again. Luckily, he doesn’t have to worry about speaking, Sephiroth choosing that moment to chime in, a guilty look on his face. “I have to apologize, Cloud. I didn’t realize that that was the place…” He cuts himself off, shaking his head before continuing, “That that would cause that sort of reaction.”

“I don’t know what happened, sir.”

Sephiroth shakes his head again. “None of this is your fault, Cloud. I take full responsibility. I had thought to provide you with a change of scenery, but perhaps we’ll stick with the training grounds for now.”

But why would a change of scenery affect him so? What was Sephiroth taking responsibility for? Before he can ask if they know what had happened to him, Rhapsodos squeezes his shoulder comfortingly and then stands up again. “Think you’re ready to start?”

Cloud nods his head a little more vigorously than necessary. He needs them to think that he can handle himself. That he’s capable of more than falling to pieces in front of them. “I can still train. I promise it won’t happen again, sir.”

Rhapsodos sighs, a somewhat somber look in his eyes. “We’re not asking that it never happen again, little bird. We just don’t like seeing you in pain. We don’t want you to force yourself.”

“But shouldn’t I be able to handle a little change of scenery?” It didn’t make sense. That should be a red flag right there. Not that he wants them to stop training him, but it can’t be good to have a SOLDIER freezing in their tracks just because of a new landscape.

Sephiroth lays a hand on his shoulder now. “It’ll make sense soon enough, Cloud.”

“What does that even mean??”

“Cloud, please.”

“Fine.” If they can handle him having a breakdown over some rocks, they could deal with him pouting because of a lack of information. They were hiding something; he could feel it.

“Thank you, Cloud.” The smile on the General’s face is enough to distract Cloud from his frustration and he listens, pout forgotten, as the man continues speaking. “I’ve asked Genesis here for some joint training. We want to combine the experience that you’ve gained using melee weapons and using magic to fight.”

Cloud’s face scrunches up in confusion. “Combine, sir?”

Rhapsodos answers in his stead, an orb of blue materia in his hands. “Today you’ll learn how to exploit an enemy’s elemental weakness. Not by casting spells directly, but by linking materia to your weapon and infusing your attacks with that element.” The Commander drops the materia into Cloud’s hands as he explains, “That’s called elemental materia. If you pair that with attack materia, you can apply an element to your equipment. If you link it to your weapon, then you can deal elemental damage to your opponent. If, instead, you link it to your armor, it will make you more resistant to an element. Make sense?”

“I think so, sir.” Cloud nods in tandem with his response, feeling much better than he did a minute ago now that his mind was completely off wastelands and Zack-lookalikes. “So, if I were to attach both this and fire materia to my sword, I could do more damage to enemies that are weak to fire?”

The man’s smile is almost feral with how happy he looks – though whether that’s more to do with Cloud guessing right or because he picked the man’s favorite element, he doesn’t know. “Exactly! This will be more difficult than what we’ve done before. You will still have to activate the materia – both attack **and** elemental – but this time, instead of aiming and releasing the energy at your enemy, you will need to direct it into your weapon. You will also need to power it continuously to keep it activated.”

Cloud tries not to show the worry on his face. That sounds a lot more difficult. It was one thing just standing still and focusing his energy until the spell was ready to go, but now he’ll have to move around and fight while feeding energy to the materia. “I’ll try my best, sir.”

“Good. Here’s ice, fire, and lightning materia. We’ll be working with those today.” Genesis says, handing over three green orbs to compliment the blue one.

Sephiroth fiddles with the control panel again and a reddish-pink monster appears in front of them. Turning to him, the General asks, “Do you know what this is?”

Answering without thinking, Cloud practically quotes, “Hedgehog Pie. Weak to ice.” Well, at least his Monster Theory class was good for something.

Sephiroth nods, pleased. “Good. You know what to do, Cloud.”

So, that would be all the help he was going to get. Ok, he can do this. He’s always been better with magic. Slotting ice materia into his sword adjacent to the elemental one, he’s momentarily distracted by the visible change to his weapon when he activates the two materia. Icicles grow from hilt and blade alike as his sword appears to emit steam from the condensation. A snarl snaps him from his observations and he looks up in time to see the Hedgehog Pie start its charge. Breathing in and out slowly, Cloud readies himself for the confrontation, making sure not to lose his focus on the materia. Once in range, he takes a single step forward and swings at the monster. Frozen solid before he has even finished slashing, when the ice breaks away – suddenly, violently – the Hedgehog Pie collapses to the ground motionless before dissolving back into thin air, as simulated and unreal as ever.

Blinking stupidly at the empty space in front of him, Cloud tries to understand what just happened. He knew in theory that the fight would be easier, but he hadn’t expected it to be over _that_ quickly. He would almost feel sorry for the monster, if he hadn’t been on the receiving end of those teeth before. As it stands, he doesn’t have time for pity anyway, Sephiroth summoning another enemy for him to fight.

The monster that appears before him next is just as easily recognizable. Even if they hadn’t covered Blugus in Monster Theory, it wouldn’t be too hard to realize what the fish-type monster was weak to. Replacing the ice materia with lightning, his sword starts to glow blue as it practically thrums with electricity. Sparks of lightning dancing across the blade, when his sword slips through mucus-coated skin, it’s over. The large, flying, pufferfish-like monster writhes in artificial agony before disappearing, leaving Cloud in the dark as to whether the lingering scent of fried fish is actually there or just a wishful conjuring of his empty stomach.

Body moving on its own now, he swaps lightning out for fire when he sees that the monster standing before him is none other than a Kalm Fang – the kind that may or may not have gotten the better of his instructor, Sgt. Williams. Embers flickering and smoke wafting up from the blade, flames licking his sword, the cut that Cloud inflicts on the Fang burns from the inside out. Unable to do more than howl in misery, the monster is soon reduced to ash before its remains evaporate back into the ether.

The looks on the SOLDIERs’ faces can’t be classified as anything other than pride, but Cloud still tries not to read too much into his success. He had always been better with magic and they had him fighting easier monsters.

Gazing at him fondly, Rhapsodos recites once again, “ _Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds…”_

“Healer of what?” Cloud cocks his head to the side, trying to understand what the Commander was saying and why it felt like he was referring to Cloud himself.

Sephiroth sighs before the other SOLDIER can respond, starting to look like he was regretting having let Rhapsodos join them. “Genesis. If Cloud starts quoting _Loveless_ , too, I will never forgive you.”

Rolling his eyes, the Commander scoffs. “And you claim I’m the one fond of dramatics.” There’s a smile on the man’s face, though, so Cloud feels that they must banter like this often.

* * *

Just as his combat ability grows, so too does his confusion – exasperation? – with the 1sts’ behavior, who seem to be taking any excuse to spend more time with him. He’s half-convinced that he’s just imagining things – who in their right mind would want to spend that much time with him? – but he can think of no other reason for why they’re always around on the days that he doesn’t have patrol. Their actions so noticeable, that his roommates have a running bet on who will whisk him away next.

Cloud wouldn’t have minded Zack, who was content to just laze about in his apartment watching movies and playing video games or who took him to visit Aerith, or even Commander Hewley, who was rather fond of gardening – something Cloud never realized he himself had an innate ability for until spending time with the large SOLDIER. But as it was, none of them could have guessed that it would be Commander Rhapsodos, the man waltzing into Cloud’s Monster Theory class just as it ended, insisting that they see that day’s showing of _Loveless_ together. In front of the rest of the class. Cloud didn’t need to look at Johnson to know that the cadet was livid. If nothing else, at least spending time with the man got him away from his bully.

* * *

“Cloud, what are you doing?”

Cloud comes to a stop, realizing that he had subconsciously been pacing up and down the train car he and his roommates were in. Turning to Logan, who had asked the question, he shrugs. “I don’t really know.” Pausing, he realizes something. Train rides don’t normally go this smoothly for him. “But my motion sickness doesn’t seem to be bothering me.” Weird. He had struggled with that for like forever.

“Do you think moving helps?” Colin asks, eyeing Cloud thoughtfully.

Cloud shrugs. “Maybe?” He had never tried before. He had only ever groaned and beared it, slumped over in his seat.

“I was going to suggest you come sit down with us,” Garrett says. “But maybe you should keep moving around – motion sickness does not look fun.” Cloud has to agree – it isn’t fun. It’s not usually that bad on the train – not like in a car or truck – but Cloud had always chalked that up to the trips being shorter. If moving around really helped, he definitely would take advantage of that.

He’s just made another loop of the empty-but-them train car, when the locomotive pulls into the station in the Sector 5 slums. Stopping in front of his roommates, he watches as the doors open, a shout of “That girl is always a breath of fresh air!” drifting through, before two men join them in the car.

The first one has blond hair, blue eyes, and quite a bit of stubble. He wears a dark shirt, a navy blue jacket, a white scarf, and dark green cargo pants. There is a pair of goggles around his forehead and, for some reason, Cloud finds it weird that there isn’t a pack of cigarettes there, too, secured under one of the straps.

His companion, though, is far more intimidating. Possibly taller and more muscular than even Commander Hewley himself, the dark-skinned man is quite the (frightening) sight to behold. He has black hair, a short beard, and brown eyes. His outfit is an all-white ensemble, his tank top and vest leaving a tattoo of a skull surrounded by flames on full display. Possibly the most striking of all for Cloud, though, is the fact that the man’s right arm is completely intact. Not entirely sure why this is odd, though, he shakes his head, ignoring the strange feeling.

Finished with his assessment, Cloud realizes with a sinking feeling that while he had been scrutinizing them, they had been doing the same with him, their eyes wide. Taking a step forward, the large, dark-skinned man calls out, “Yo, Blondie!” Cloud takes a step back in response, instinctively, apprehensively. Why did this always happen to him?

Before the man can continue though, his companion slaps him, chiding, “Oi, Barret, ya dumbass! They said he doesn’t goddamn remember!”

Oh Gaia. Not again. Especially not in front of his roommates. Why did they have to pick this train car? For that matter, why did he and his roommates have to pick it? They had the entire day off. They could have gone to explore the slums later.

The taller man – Barret – throws his hands up in the air, attention turned to his partner. “I know! I was just checking for myself!”

His companion sighs heavily, rolling his eyes, before walking up to Cloud himself. “Don’t worry, kiddo. He’s not a bad guy.” Throwing a smirk Barret’s way, he adds, “He’s just loud.”

Barret huffs. “Shut up, Cid.” Barret and Cid… Why did those names sound so familiar?

“Do you two know our friend?” Cloud hears Logan ask the newcomers. Turning, he finds his roommates now standing behind him, offering silent support.

“Friend? You guys are friends with Spike here?” Barret asks his roommates as he moves to stand next to Cid, surprise evident in his voice and on his face.

“Uh… yeah?” Colin responds, sounding unsure as to why that was so surprising.

“Since when did you have friends?” Barret asks, staring down at Cloud shell-shocked. Cloud isn’t any better off – gaping at the man, uneasy, trying to figure out why it was so wrong for him to have friends. Did they know who he was? Were they from Nibelheim? He had never seen them there, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Before Cloud can solve his conundrum, though, Barret has turned to his companion – Cid – and gives him the same unbelieving look that he gave Cloud. “Did you even know that he had friends before??” Not waiting for a response, he turns back around, addressing Cloud again. “When did this even happen??”

Garrett pushes his way next to Cloud and glares up at the man. “ _Excuse you_ , old man.” Great. Leave it to the red-head to just make things worse.

Barret splutters and then an offended look comes over his face. “Who you calling old man??”

Frightened, Cloud looks between the two, hoping that Garrett has the tact to back down and not escalate things. He doesn’t. Instead, he scoffs, responding as if he was talking to a child, “You, obviously.”

Colin, apparently just as worried as Cloud, tugs on the back of Garrett’s shirt. “Quiet, Garrett. He’ll kill you.” Cloud nearly scoffs. He could kill _all_ of them.

While meant as a whisper, their company hears Colin anyway, Barret bristling in response. “Hey. My name is Barret. Not Garrett.”

Ignoring Cid’s gruff “They’re not talking to you, ya numbskull,” Barret’s attention remains on Cloud’s roommates, as Garret crosses his arms over his chest and says forcefully, “ **I’m** Garrett.”

The two stare at each other for several tense seconds, Cloud racking his brain for the best way out of this situation – there must be something Sephiroth taught him that would prove useful – when Barret _grins_. “I like you, kid. You’re not bad.”

Cloud releases a breath he hadn’t even realized he had been holding. Was it really that easy? It certainly never seemed that simple whenever Cloud had to face his antagonists.

Unfortunately, his exhale is loud enough to draw attention back to him. Barret’s face softens at the no doubt still terrified look on his. “Hey, no need to look like that, kiddo. I’d never hurt a bunch of kids.”

Cloud almost feels like the man’s words should mean something to him, an excited cry of ‘Daddy!’ flitting through his head. “Do you have any kids, sir?” he asks, not really thinking.

A pained look flashes over the man’s face, then he answers, voice thick with emotion, “I did, yes.”

“Did?”

“She’s no longer with us.” Barret swallows, looking as if he’s trying to hold back tears.

Oh. Cloud feels really bad now for asking. He hadn’t meant to cause the other distress, regardless of how intimidating he was. “I’m sorry to hear that, sir.”

The man smiles sadly down at him. “Thanks, kid. I’ll see her again someday, though.” He sniffs. “She might not know it’s me, but I’ll know her.”

“You mean like reincarnation?” Logan asks.

“Hmm… Something like that.”

Cloud doesn’t think that’s exactly right, but can’t figure out why. More importantly, though, something feels completely off about the man in front of him. More so than just his surprisingly whole arm. Face scrunching up in thought, Cloud realizes that the man’s outfit doesn’t look right. At all. Was it the fact that it was all white?

Noticing the excess attention, Barret looks himself up and down self-consciously. “Is something wrong?”

“Your outfit…” Cloud says, the words out of his mouth before he can stop them.

“Eh?! What’s wrong with my outfit??”

**_“You look like a bear wearing a marshmallow.”_ **

Don’t say it.

Don’t say it.

Don’t say it.

“You look like a bear wearing a marshmallow,” he hears himself say.

Shit.

Ok, well, SOLDIER 1st Class was a nice dream. It’s just a shame that he would never been able to realize it, especially with Sephiroth teaching him and all.

Instead of being killed on the spot like he had expected, Barret barks out a laugh, saying something that sounds awfully like “I do, don’t I?” while Cid throws his head back and laughs hard. “I told ya that wasn’t a good look for you!” Not the reaction he was expecting, but at least he won’t be dying today it seems. He’ll take what he can get.

“Well, I think we’ve bothered y’all enough.” Cid says, grinning down at Cloud. “See ya around, kiddo.” And the man turns on the spot and heads towards the door leading to the next car, throwing a “C’mon, Barret!” over his shoulder.

“Take good care of Blondie here, ok? He seems like the type to get into trouble.” Barret says, addressing Cloud’s roommates. Turning to Cloud, he winks. “They seem like good kids.” Then the man offers him a sloppy, two-finger salute and turns and follows after his companion.

.

.

.

“Uhh…” Colin is the first to break the silence once they’re alone again, but when his roommates look to him, he doesn’t continue his train of thought.

“What just happened?” Logan finishes for him instead.

Cloud sighs, a heavy, annoyed thing, then slumps into the seat behind him. “ **That** is what I told you about before. That’s what’s been happening to me for _weeks._ ”

“How do they all know you?” Colin asks, having apparently worked through his confusion enough to ask a question.

Groaning, Cloud lets his head fall backwards and land against the top of the seat. “Wouldn’t I _love_ to know.”

Pointing towards the now-closed door that the two strange men had passed through, Garret asks incredulously, “ **That’s** what happened with Sephiroth, Zack Fair, and those Turks?”

Cloud nods. “And three kids in the Sector 7 slums.”

Logan falls into the seat next to him. “Nothing makes sense anymore.” Cloud totally agrees with that. Has been feeling the same way for weeks now. At least he wasn’t the only one massively confused this time.

* * *

“Well, I see the walkin’ shampoo commercial hasn’t burned the damn place to the ground yet.” The pilot announces his and Barret’s arrival with flair as usual, slipping into the chair next to Reeve and smirking at Sephiroth. “So congrats, I guess.”

His companion pauses, one hand on the back of the chair next to Cid, looking intently at Sephiroth. “Tifa says you’re training Cloud.” Ahh, so that was it. This was the part where he threatened him. “If you so much as damage one hair on that kid’s head – ”

“I have no intention of hurting Cloud,” Sephiroth says, cutting the former gunman off. “If I do, that means that Jenova has taken control again. If that happens, I’m counting on all of you to take me out.” And he looks at everybody in turn to make sure they understand that he’s entirely serious. Angeal and Genesis wear matching grimaces, both being in the same position as him and all.

Barret narrows his eyes at him, his response apparently not enough to placate the other man. “Me ‘n Cid saw the kid earlier today. I’ve never seen him look so scared and insecure. Just what exactly are you teaching him?”

Sephiroth feels his hackles raise at the insinuation, but forces himself not to rise to the bait. If they were to destroy Jenova, they would need all the help they could get. And that meant playing nice with Cloud’s former comrades. “I’ve been working to boost Cloud’s self-confidence, not destroy it.”

“Oh yeah? He never used to flinch like that when he saw me before.”

Genesis snorts. “The kid doesn’t remember you and you’re huge. He probably thought that a Behemoth had gotten loose in Midgar.”

Barret does not experience the same amusement at the jab that his friend does. Ignoring Cid’s laughter, he turns to Genesis, having completely forgotten about Sephiroth. “What did you say to me??”

“Whoa, whoa!” Zack jumps out of his seat, in an attempt to pacify the older man. “Spike is a lot younger than any of us knew him the last time. His self-esteem issues are not the fault of anybody here. All we can do is help him think better of himself.”

Confusion falls over the large man’s face when he looks to Zack. “Who are you? I don’t remember seeing you here before.”

“Ah, right. I only just remembered a couple months ago.” Zack holds a hand out towards Barret. “SOLDIER 1st Class Zack Fair at your service.”

Cid whistles. “I’ll be damned.”

Barret regards the teen in an entirely different light, deep respect clear on his face. Shaking Zack’s hand, he says, “It’s a real honor to meet you, kid.” At the bewildered look on the teen’s face, he amends, “Name’s Barret Wallace. The grumpy one here is Cid Highwind. We used to fight together with Cloud.”

“Oh! Nice to meet you, too.”

Reno winks at Zack. “Snow White here used to blow up mako reactors with Cloud, too.”

Growling at the Turk, Barret shoots back, “Oh yeah? Well, it was you and your partner here who dropped the Sector 7 plate. How many people did you kill again?”

“That’s enough!” Having successfully distracted Barret and Reno from glaring at one another, Angeal continues, “Everybody here has done things that they regret. We were all given a second chance to make sure we don’t make those same mistakes again. Fighting amongst ourselves does **not** solve anything.”

Reno slumps back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, as Barret finally settles into his own seat, still grumbling. Once his companion is finally situated, Cid turns towards Rufus. “I’m makin’ real progress with solar power. Still gonna need time to perfect it, but it’s lookin’ quite promisin’. I also had some ideas about wind power, so gonna look into that as well.”

Barret perks up, anger forgotten for the time being. “In the meantime, there’s plenty of coal in Corel and plenty of miners to mine it! And that oil field from last time was exactly where I remembered! The biggest damned oil field you ever seen!” There’s a massive grin on the man’s face and Sephiroth can see why Cloud was afraid of him. While perhaps not resembling a Behemoth like Genesis had implied, he certainly seemed as excitable as one. And he definitely didn’t look like a teddy bear, either.

“Thank you for the update, gentlemen.” Rufus says, attention on Cid as he continues, “Though, right now I would like to talk to you about Shinra No. 26.”

That gets Cid’s immediate attention. Sitting up straighter in his chair, hope shining on his face, he asks, “You’re gonna continue with the Space Program?”

Rufus sighs, but at least he doesn’t smirk like last time. “Not exactly.”

Cid practically fumes, slapping his hands on the table. “Ya goddamn prick! You already stomped all over my dreams once. You gonna do it again??”

Reeve lays a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Cid, calm down. Just hear him out.”

Whacking his hand away, Cid glowers at his former comrade. “Why should I listen to that &$#$^@?! It’s the same thing every time!”

_“Jenova.”_

Spinning in his chair towards the source of the voice, Cid finds Vincent in the corner of the room. “There you are, Vince! You gonna join the big boys at the table?”

Vincent raises a single eyebrow at the pilot, but makes no effort to move. “I’m comfortable where I’m at.”

“Suit yourself.” Cid shrugs, then turns back to Rufus, anger still visible on his face. “Alright, I’ll bite. What does Jenova hafta do with my spaceship?”

* * *

“You are progressing nicely, Cloud.”

“Thank you, sir.” Luckily, only his ears heat up at Sephiroth’s praise. He doesn’t need his face to be a constant shade of beet red. He really hopes ‘progressing nicely’ means that he’ll be of more use the next time Garrett decides to insult a giant. It’s only been about two weeks now since the incident on the train, but he’s pretty sure he can’t count on the red-head to keep his mouth shut.

“Before we finish for the day, I would like to try one more thing.” Sephiroth says as he crosses to the center of the room. “You’ve gained a lot of experience fighting monsters, but as a SOLDIER you will have to face human enemies, too.”

An inexplicable wave of fear washes over him when Sephiroth then unsheathes Masamune and the full implication of the man’s words hit him. “O-ok, sir.” What was wrong with him? It was only training. The General would never hurt him intentionally. Right?

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Cloud.” Sephiroth says, an unreadable look on his face. “I will not attack you. But it’s imperative that you learn how to deal with enemies who think like you do. Who can guess what your next ten moves will be.”

“Ok, sir.” The dread is still there, not that he can explain it any better, but at least he sounds more sure of himself. He really doesn’t need the man thinking that he’s always afraid.

Sephiroth nods. “Good. Come at me when you’re ready.” And he raises Masamune up, one hand over the other on the sword’s hilt, blade perfectly parallel with the ground.

As if on instinct, Cloud charges towards the man, both hands holding his sword behind him. When he gets within range, he swipes forward, but Sephiroth blocks the attack easily, the clang of metal echoing throughout the room. Without missing a beat, Cloud uses his momentum to swing his sword back at the man, but that, too, is effortlessly deflected. Body now on auto-pilot, he attacks again and again – down, up, down, left, right – trying to find even the smallest of openings, but is thwarted each and every time, his opponent alternating between guarding smoothly and dancing gracefully out of the way.

Frustrated that Sephiroth can evade his attacks so easily and not entirely thinking straight – why does he feel this would be easier with two swords? – he jumps high into the air, sword raised above his head. He doesn’t realize his mistake until it’s entirely too late. The way things are, he is horrible, laughably open. It would be child’s play for Sephiroth to bring Masamune up and stab him straight through his exposed chest.

**_“Is this the pain you felt before, Cloud?”_ **

Unable to act in time to protect himself, his eyes slip shut as he falls and braces for the pain he knows will come, for the terrible feeling of being impaled on Masamune. When metal meets metal, however, his eyes snap open in shock. Rather than taking advantage of his blunder, Sephiroth had simply brought his sword up to meet Cloud’s.

Incapable of deciphering this strange twist of fate, much less remember that he’s still technically in the air, Cloud tumbles gracelessly to the floor, staring up at Sephiroth, eyes wide. He was sure that the General would have punished him for his slip-up and he could almost feel the man’s sword ripping him apart as he dangled helplessly, suspended in the air. Could almost hear the man mocking him for his weakness, asking for the pleasure to take away everything he held dear.

Blinking uncomprehending up at the man, he finds the General considering him in return, something of a calculating look in his eyes. “That’s all for today, Cloud.” He nods dumbly from his spot sprawled on the floor, unable to think himself out of his shock. What had just happened? “We will need to work on your body language, though. Currently, you telegraph your every move, which makes it easy for your opponent to get the better of you.” Pulling Cloud to his feet, he continues. “We will also need to improve your guard. Your last attack left you wide open – if I had really been your enemy, it would have been a simple thing for me to stab you straight through the heart. Understand?”

Cloud swallows and looks down at his feet. “Yes, sir.”

“Hey, none of that.” Sephiroth’s voice is soft and he’s in Cloud’s space again. “Nobody starts off as a master of anything. It takes hard work and practice. You also need the courage to admit when you’ve made a mistake and the determination to fix said mistake. Got it?”

Cloud nods. “Got it.”

“Good.”

* * *

After lunch, Sephiroth bids him farewell and they go their separate ways (the General still won’t listen to Cloud about not needing to eat together every day). Checking the clock on his PHS, Cloud realizes that he should still have time to get a shower before class if he’s quick about it. Which is good, cause he’s starting to smell like a sewer. For some reason, the phrase “Ho-hee!” rings through his head at that thought, though he can’t decide whether the voice is that of a young woman or a creepy-sounding man.

Shower finished and feeling much more refreshed – honestly, he can’t understand how Sephiroth can stand to be near him when he smells like he does after training – Cloud dresses and leaves the bathroom. If he hurries, he should be able to make it to class with a few minutes to spare.

As the door shuts behind him, a chill runs down his spine at the sight that’s waiting for him in the hallway. Guess he won’t be making it to his class on time… or at all.

“There you are, _Strife_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I wanted Sephiroth and Genesis to have a wholesome moment together where they don't have to worry about Jenova... and then footsies happened lol.  
> \- I like the idea that after Aerith's death and Meteorfall, that Cloud (and the rest of Avalanche) learned how to tend to flowers in remembrance of their lost friend.  
> \- Credit for the idea of Cloud's friends from Avalanche running into his roommates and being like "Did anyone know Cloud even had friends before???" goes to marshmall0 - thanks for the great idea!!  
> \- So, Barret's name has one 't' in it and when I created Cloud's roommate, Garrett, I gave him two 't's. I will freely admit that I had to be extra careful writing this chapter to make sure I didn't confuse the two...  
> \- The "bear wearing a marshmallow" line is one of my favorites from the original game, so I had to alter Barret's outfit to get it into the chapter 😉  
> \- In the Japanese version of the Remake, Corneo yells "Ho-hee!" at like everything. Well, in the sewers after you beat Abzu, Aerith very clearly mocks this and it is absolutely hilarious. I love it so much. So that's why Cloud can't figure out whether "Ho-hee!" is from Aerith or Corneo. ( You can see/hear both of them doing it in this video around 0:31 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKeEY9mDVgs&feature=youtu.be&t=31 )


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNING!!!**   
>  **There are some very scary threats/suggestive language in this chapter. Please keep that in mind while reading. I don’t plan to have anything else like it after this chapter, but if there is, there’ll be another warning.**

“There you are, _Strife_.”

If the sight of Johnson and five of his closest friends wasn’t enough to set off all sorts of alarm bells in Cloud’s head, then Johnson’s use of his last name definitely was. The other teen only ever used some sort of Chocobo reference when talking to him. If he was opting for his real name this time, the cadet definitely meant business. And it would not turn out well for Cloud.

Taking a deep, albeit shaky, breath, Cloud tries to keep his voice even. “Come on, Johnson. We’re going to be late for class.” He has no escape – his only way out is completely blocked by the cadets in front of him. Six against one isn’t good odds, even if he is being trained by Sephiroth. His best bet is to diffuse the situation before it even starts.

“Yeah. Don’t care,” the other teen answers flippantly. Sneering, he continues, “I’ve been watching you, _Strife_. For weeks.” Cloud’s first mistake was assuming that the situation hadn’t started yet. Of course it had. It had started the moment Cloud became Sephiroth’s student. “You’re always surrounded by those 1sts.” Johnson pauses and Cloud does not like the look on the other’s face. “Well, almost always. You never have any protection between lunch and classes and you do seem fond of taking a shower during that time.”

Cloud feels the blood drain from his face. The teen had been planning this. And for a while from the sound of things. This was bad. No. Bad didn’t even begin to cover it. He should have known that Johnson behaving for so long was a terrible omen. “Why are you doing this?” Hopefully, he could stall until somebody else showed up. He ignores the nearly frantic thought that everybody was in class and wouldn’t return for hours.

“I’m tired of you waltzing around like you’re something special when all you’re doing is sleeping through the ranks.” The bully says, looking at Cloud as if he were a Bugaboo that needed to be squashed. One of Johnson’s friends crosses his arms over a puffed-out chest, as if silently daring Cloud to deny the claim.

But deny it he does. “What are you talking about?! I’m not sleeping with anybody!” This was absolutely ridiculous. He was 14 for Gaia’s sake. Ok, almost 15, but that was still underage. He almost accuses the other cadet of being a bumbling idiot, but he had already proven himself to be unfathomably clever in cornering Cloud and cutting him off from any form of salvation. Though, apparently the cunning he showed planning this ambush didn’t extend to anything else.

Johnson snarls, face twisting unattractively – not that it was pleasant to look at normally. “I’ve seen the pictures!” He then gestures to his friends, “We all have.”

Not this again. Cloud was so sick and tired of those pictures. Of the fan clubs in general. Why couldn’t they just mind their own business? If they had, maybe he wouldn’t be in this terrible mess.

“He _is_ rather pretty, Johnson.”

Cloud’s not sure which one had spoken – not that he knows their names anyway – but he does not like the sound of that.

“Not when I’m finished with him,” Johnson returns, pausing thoughtfully, looking Cloud up and down like a piece of meat. “Or wait. I wonder how he would look on his knees.”

The leer on the bully’s face, the implication of his words, and the manner in which the other cadets laugh at that statement prove to be extremely effective in causing Cloud’s blood to run cold. As if that wasn’t enough, though, one of Johnson’s bootlickers takes the statement as permission to goad the bully on further. “Put his pretty mouth to good use, Johnson!”

“Yeah! He won’t be able to talk back like that!” Another cadet cries, sniggering at the alarmed look on Cloud’s face. He _really_ does not like where this is going.

“Time to show you where you belong, _Strife_. Beneath me.” Johnson laughs cruelly, raking his gaze over Cloud’s body one last time and smirking. “I might as well get some fun out of it, too.”

Cloud watches in terror, breathing shallow and heart beating out of his chest, as Johnson starts to slowly descend on him like some sort of alpha predator. When the teen flicks open the button on his pants and reaches a hand inside to stroke himself, Cloud realizes that no help is coming – he’s all alone. Swallowing back the bile rising in his throat, he slips into a battle stance, turning to the side to become less of a target, and tries to calm his racing nerves. Sephiroth had taught him how to handle multiple enemies at once, all he can do is try to take advantage of that. Granted, he had only ever faced a couple of Nibel Wolves and they had never threatened to assault him, but he has no other options now. Maybe he can make it out of this relatively unscathed if he can just. stop. the. damn. shaking.

“You can have the leftovers when I’m finished!” Johnson calls to his friends, cruel eyes still trained on Cloud.

_“Would you care to repeat that?”_

Disregarding the positively frigid tone, Johnson whirls towards the new voice. “Mind your own damn business!”

_“Wrong answer.”_

Realizing his mistake entirely too late, Johnson watches on in horror as the red-eyed Turk reveals himself, his appearance so sudden and unexpected, it was as if the man had materialized out of thin air. A single murderous glance is more than enough to have the bully scrambling to redo his pants, the other cadets frozen in fear with the understanding of just how much trouble they were in.

When the Turk turns red eyes on him, Cloud swears he can almost see worry hidden beneath all of the rage. “Cadet Strife, you are free to go,” the man says to him, voice surprisingly gentle. One of the cadets tries to flee while the Turk’s attention is otherwise occupied, but the sound of moving has the man spinning around. “ _Did I dismiss the rest of you?”_ The cadet stops in his tracks, practically vibrating in fear and looking on the verge of tears.

“Uh, sir…?” Cloud’s not sure what he wants to say, but his mouth has a mind of its own.

Returning his attention to Cloud, the Turk smiles down at him, wild and bloodthirsty, but Cloud finds it strangely comforting nonetheless. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle this,” the man says, red eyes appearing to flash golden ever so briefly.

* * *

Cloud stumbles down the empty hallway, his traitorous mind replaying Johnson’s words and actions, summoning up images of what would have happened if his Turk savior hadn’t shown up. He had been ready to fight, as terrified as he was, but would he really have been able to succeed? The other cadets weren’t like Nibel Wolves – they had hands. Yes, he most likely had more stamina and skill with a sword, but they were larger than he was and much stronger in terms of brute force. If even one of them had gotten a hand on him, he could have easily been pinned and then – **No.** Stop that train of thought _. right_. _there_.

Staggering into his dorm room, he slumps against the door once it closes. If he could only get his shuddering under control, then maybe he could still make it to class without being too terribly late. But, did he even want to go now? How would he explain his tardiness? Heck if he was going to tell anybody what had actually happened. What had almost happened. Besides, he had Monster Theory today. He had no friends in that class. What if the other cadets were as upset as Johnson? …What if they decided to do what his bully didn’t have the time to? Oh Gaia. Six would have been hard enough – no way would he be able to fight off the rest of the class by himself. And he had no more Turk backup. There’s no way he could go to class now.

“Hey! We’re gonna be late!”

Cloud tries to bite back the screech at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, but a tiny squeak still makes it past his lips. Footsteps stopping right outside his door leave him petrified, both hands clamped over his mouth as he tries to muffle the noise of his rather uneven breathing. “Did you hear that?” A different voice says. Great, there were two of them. At least.

“No…?” The first voice says. “Stop stalling, dude, and get your textbook. You’re not the one being trained by Sephiroth. It’s not like you can afford to miss classes. Not with that face.”

The other cadet huffs. “Shut up, man.”

A pause. “He’s kinda pretty. Strife, you know.”

“What? Are you into that sort of thing?”

“Ha! Not normally, but for him… maybe.”

_Put his pretty mouth to good use, Johnson!_

Resisting the urge to cry out at the voice of Johnson’s friend in his head, Cloud squeezes his eyes shut and tries to will away the stray cadets. The glorious sound of retreating footsteps does little to ease his pounding heart, though, his mind tearing through an endless list of scenarios of what could happen if one of the other cadets found him. If they decided he was as pretty as Johnson and his friends had. He couldn’t stay there.

When he can’t hear either cadet any longer, Cloud flings open the door and bolts. He has to get out of the building. **Now.**

_Just tell me if he tries anything again._ Zack’s voice rings through his head, but how can he face him now? How can face any of the 1sts? He knew he was a loser – he had even tried to tell Zack – but this was definitive proof. No way would any of the 1sts have been weak enough to be in a situation like this. No way would any of them want to see him again. Better if he just disappeared.

* * *

Sephiroth is nearly finished with his paperwork for the day when the phone on his desk rings. Sighing, he picks up the handset. If that was Reno being a pest again, he was going to march down to the General Affairs floor and show the red-head exactly why he was known as the Demon of Wutai. In front of all his Turk friends, no less. “Hello?”

“ _Uhh... General Sephiroth, sir?_ ” The person on the other end sounds hesitant, but at least it isn’t Reno.

“Speaking.”

“ _Sir, this is Sgt. Williams from Infantry._ ”

“Oh, you’re one of Cloud’s instructors. Monster Theory, correct?”

“ _Yes, sir,_ ” the man says, sounding rather flattered that Sephiroth knows who he is. “ _I was actually calling about Strife. He never showed up for class today. Is he still with you, sir?_ ”

Never showed up? That was entirely unlike him. Sephiroth does not like where this is going. “Cloud and I parted ways nearly two hours ago.”

_“Oh.”_

“Thank you for informing me, Sergeant. I will take it from here.”

Not even bothering to set the handset down, Sephiroth immediately dials a new number – Cloud’s. His sense of foreboding only grows, though, when the call goes straight to voicemail. Lingering a little longer than necessary on the boy’s prerecorded voice, the message cuts off as he hangs up and tries a different number – this call thankfully going through.

_“Hello?”_

“Zack. Cloud never showed up to class today and he’s not answering his PHS. Can you check all the places he’s likely to go in the building and report back to me?”

_“Shit. Yeah, of course.”_

* * *

“I don’t understand. Where could he have gone?” Zack sounds rather distressed as he paces back and forth throughout the room. “I looked everywhere but there was no sign of him…” Coming to a stop, the teen slumps into the chair in front of Sephiroth’s desk with a sigh.

“When was the last time you saw him?” Genesis asks, addressing Sephiroth but keeping his attention on the Puppy, who had dropped his head into his hands dismally. While far more composed, the Commander was no doubt just as worried. Sephiroth was just glad that both he and Angeal were available on such short notice.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Sephiroth responds, “It’s been about two hours.” And he doesn’t like it. Cloud’s been missing for hours and none of them have any clue what happened to him.

“So, something must have happened between then and the start of his classes.” Angeal deduces, a deep crease in his brow. While he hadn’t spent as much time with the boy as the rest of them, the man had still grown rather fond of him and his ‘innate ability for gardening.’ If the quickest way to Genesis’s heart was _Loveless_ or magic, the quickest to Angeal’s was definitely gardening.

Picking up his phone again, Sephiroth dials a number by heart. Time to call in backup. “Mr. President. Cloud has gone missing and none of us can get into contact with him.”

There’s a sigh on the other end. _“Given the circumstances, it’s not all that surprising.”_

Sephiroth feels a flash of anger at the meaning hidden behind the man’s response. “Given the circumstances? Why wasn’t I informed about these circumstances? I am the boy’s mentor after all.”

_“I’m telling you now.”_ Sephiroth can almost hear the rolling of the man’s eyes, which definitely does nothing to quell his building anger. _“Actually, why don’t you and your fellow 1sts come up to my office. There are some people here who could enlighten you as to the reason behind Cloud’s disappearance.”_

“We’ll be there.”

* * *

When they arrive at Rufus’s office, Sephiroth is not surprised to find the Turks already there – he had rather expected it. What is unusual is the manner in which they are acting. Vincent is off to one side of the President’s desk, leaning against a pillar, an absolutely menacing aura about him. Reno stands to the other side of the desk, tapping his electro-mag rod against his thigh methodically while Rude cracks his knuckles in a threatening sort of way next to him. As for Tseng, the second-in-command stands to Rufus’s right, an incredibly dark look on his normally impassive face.

More noteworthy, though, is who they are all glaring at. In the center of the room stand several bedraggled-looking cadets who seem to be hoping for a chance to run far, far away. Not that running would save them from the wrath of several angry Turks, whose job it was to track the untrackable.

“Thank you for joining us, gentlemen,” Rufus says in greeting, though his eyes never stray from the cadets in front of him. If at all possible, more color seems to drain from the teens’ faces when they see just who had joined them.

“What happened to them?” Angeal asks, gesturing to the cadets in front of them and looking a little put-out at their haggard appearance.

“Vincent took care of them.” Rufus gestures towards the Turk, whose attention remains fixed on the cadets as he fiddles casually with his gun. The cadets look fearfully between Vincent and his weapon and Sephiroth gets the feeling that ‘took care of them’ was code for ‘used them for target practice’. If they had harmed Cloud, then no wonder. “It seems that Jackson here,” Rufus continues, motioning towards the largest cadet. “No. Wait. That’s not his name…” The President’s face is entirely deadpan, though, so Sephiroth gets the feeling that he’s forgetting on purpose. “What was it? Jameson? Jenson? Judson?”

There’s a sudden growl from Sephiroth’s right. _“Johnson.”_ Ignoring Rufus’s “Ah, that’s it,” Zack stomps over to said cadet, dragging the teen up to eye level by the collar of his uniform. “What did you do to him?! Where is Cloud?!?” Zack’s bellowing echoes throughout the entire floor and Johnson shakes uncontrollably in the SOLDIER’s grasp, the darkening of his pants a clear sign of just how terrified he is.

While the cadet no doubt deserves the rough treatment from what little Sephiroth had heard of him, it wouldn’t do them any good if Zack killed him before they found out exactly what he had done. Angeal must feel the same way, since he pulls his former student off Johnson, lightly scolding him with a “Calm down, Zack.”

“Let him have his fun, yo. That’s what this little shit was tryna do with Blondie anyway.” Reno provides, electro-mag rod crackling ominously.

“What do you mean?” Sephiroth asks, eyes narrowing. He knows whatever the cadets must have done can’t be good, but he does not like the way Reno phrased his words.

Rufus grimaces, showing his disdain for whatever he is about to say. “Johnson here tried to rape Cloud and told his friends that they could have, and I quote, his ‘leftovers’.”

.

.

.

_“What.”_

It’s only when a fireball soars past his head and lands at Johnson’s feet, causing the teen to yelp as he falls backwards, that Sephiroth realizes that he was the one who had spoken. And that Masamune is currently half-unsheathed in front of him, the other cadets frozen terrified at the sight of him. As he re-sheathes his sword, he hears Genesis’s glib “Sorry, my hand slipped.” Turning to check on Zack, he finds the teen currently being restrained by Angeal, though the other SOLDIER looks like he himself is fighting with his morals, an extremely dangerous look on his face.

“Can you tell us exactly what happened?” Sephiroth asks. Once he has the full story, then he can decide whether or not to skewer anybody.

“These six apparently have been frustrated with Cloud’s new training situation. They watched him for weeks, found a pattern, and ambushed him when he was alone.” Sephiroth grits his teeth as Rufus smirks darkly. “Or when they thought he was alone. Vincent here has been keeping an eye on the boy ever since we found out about his little bully problem.” The President turns cold eyes on Johnson as he continues his tale, “It seems that Johnson here is convinced that Cloud has been sleeping through the ranks.”

“What? The kid’s only 14!” Angeal points out, scandalized, arms still holding Zack in place.

“Yes. Cloud tried to deny it, too, but they didn’t believe him. It seems like they were only planning on roughing him up until this one,” Rufus looks pointedly at another of the cadets, who for his part shrinks in on himself, painfully aware of all the angry looks on him. “This cadet here said that Cloud was ‘rather pretty’ and Johnson decided he wanted to see what Cloud would look like on his knees. Said he might as well get some fun out of showing Cloud his place.” Sephiroth hears the creak of leather as he reflexively tightens his grip on Masamune’s sheath. “None of Johnson’s friends here tried to stop him either. They only laughed and goaded him on. Something about Johnson putting Cloud’s pretty mouth to good use so Cloud wouldn’t be able to talk back.”

As Zack’s struggling against Angeal’s hold intensifies, another fireball goes flying by, this one grazing Johnson’s terrified face. Genesis sighs. “This seems to be malfunctioning.” The man says, tone dangerous, as he whacks his bracer, fireballs shooting forth rhythmically at each of the cadets. “I really need to get this fixed. You have my _sincerest_ apologies.”

Genesis’s enraged onslaught is only quelled by the buzzing of electricity as a volley of lightning explodes in the middle of the room, the cadets sent writhing to the floor. At Rude’s surprised “Reno?”, the red-headed Turk responds flippantly, “What? ‘Gift of the Goddess’ shouldn’t have all the fun, yo.”

If Rufus or Tseng are bothered by the violent disruption, neither say anything in the cadets’ defense. Instead, the President watches the commotion, expression almost bored if not for the sharp glint to his eyes, Tseng barking out a clipped, “On your feet.”

As the bullies scramble to obey, a couple still twitching from the mild electrocution, Sephiroth does his best to remain calm. To tamp down on the murderous instinct. Entire body tense, he tries to control the urge to join in on his colleagues’ extrajudicial vengeance, hand shaking almost imperceptibly around the sheath of Masamune.

“That’s not all of it,” Rufus offers and the singed cadets in the middle tense. “You know how I said Johnson told his friends they could have the ‘leftovers’? Well, he played with himself in front of Cloud first.”

Zack stills in Angeal’s arms momentarily before resuming his struggle, body shaking with barely suppressed rage, the older SOLDIER doing his best to restrain the nearly-rabid Puppy. “ _Let me go, Angeal_.”

Rufus sighs. “Lieutenant Fair. Please calm yourself.”

“But they tried to hurt Cloud!”

“I am aware. And they will be punished.” Rufus regards the miserable cadets in silence for several long moments, letting the suspense build. Slowly lacing his fingers together in front of him, the President then doles out his judgement. “The six of you will be dishonorably discharged – a permanent mark will be placed on your record and you will never find employment with Shinra ever again. You will also be shipped off to Corel Prison where you will work until you learn the error of your ways.”

One of the cadets lets out a strangled sob. “I’m sorry.”

Rufus raises an eyebrow, an entirely disgusted look on his face. “Oh? For what? Are you sorry for laughing while your friend nearly assaulted one of your classmates? For thinking of assaulting him yourself? Or are you just sorry that you were caught?” The cadet doesn’t answer, though, tears streaming down his face. “If you don’t like my ruling, you’re welcome to test your luck with the SOLDIERs here and find out the extent of their generosity.” When the cadet does little more than stare fearfully back at Rufus, the President continues, “Hmm. That’s what I thought. As the ringleader, Johnson will receive five years of prison time, the rest of you two and a half. Understood?”

There’s a pathetic, dissonant chorus of “Y-yes, s-sir” as the cadets shiver under the intense scrutiny.

“Good. Your parents will be informed of exactly what has happened – to you and what you tried to do to your classmate.” The cadet from before lets out another sob, but Rufus doesn’t stop. “You are welcome to try to appeal my decision, but remember that there is video evidence.” He smirks wickedly. “Also, keep in mind that I have eyes everywhere. If you so much as look at Cloud in the wrong way again, I will turn a blind eye to whatever the SOLDIERs decide to do with you and then let the Turks cover it all up. Do I make myself clear?”

There is more than one cadet crying now as they fail once more to say “Y-yes, s-sir” in unison.

Rufus nods imperiously. “Vincent, I will have you escort these delinquents to Corel once all of their parents have been notified. I will also ask Reeve to accompany you to make sure they arrive there in one piece.” Vincent nods, though he looks a little disappointed. Sephiroth thinks this might have more to do with the fact that he won’t be able to torment the former cadets any longer rather than the knowledge that it will be Reeve accompanying him – the two seem to be on good terms. “Reno, Rude, please show these _gentlemen_ to the holding cells.”

“You got it, Boss!” Reno exclaims, sounding far too excited for prisoner duty. As Rude herds the bullies towards the door, the red-head closes in on Johnson, prodding the wretch in the back with his electro-mag rod. “Move it, yo!” The teen’s seizing is all the evidence Sephiroth needs to know that the weapon was still charged. Reno stares at the rod in feigned shock before turning back to Johnson. “Oops. My bad, yo. I forgot to turn that off.”

Once the bullies have been ushered out, Angeal releases Zack, who just crosses his arms and mutters darkly about the former cadets. Focusing instead on something Rufus had said earlier, Sephiroth turns to the President. “Sir, you said that there was video evidence. Why didn’t you just show that to us?”

Sighing, Rufus looks uncharacteristically uncomfortable. “I already reviewed the footage while Vincent was out disciplining them. Trust me, you don’t want to see it.” Sephiroth opens his mouth to protest – Cloud was his student and he needed to know what had happened, no matter how disturbing – but Rufus just waves him off. “I’ve told you everything that the bullies said and did, but the video is far more visceral. You already looked like you wanted to reenact the Nibelheim Incident with those bullies. If you had seen just how distressed Cloud was or the way that they looked at him, I have no doubt that you would have killed them where they stood.”

Sephiroth’s mood darkens at that admission as he tries to keep himself from following after Reno and Rude and acquainting the former cadets with the sharp side of Masamune.

“Well, that doesn’t make me want to kill them any less.” Genesis counters, voicing Sephiroth’s own rage-filled thoughts.

Rufus looks between the 1sts thoughtfully for a moment. “You should know that even without his memories, Cloud was extremely brave throughout that whole ordeal. He was shaking like a leaf when he realized what those scumbags intended for him, but he never once gave up. Even with how terrified he was, he looked like he was ready to fight tooth and nail.”

“Thanks,” Sephiroth says, voice softer and more open than he’s ever heard it. While he’s mad at himself for leaving Cloud to deal with all of that in the first place – he was the boy’s mentor, for Gaia’s sake, he should have kept him safe – he’s indescribably proud of Cloud for keeping his wits about him and being so, so courageous even when he still has such trouble believing in himself.

“You should focus on finding Cloud for the time being.” Rufus reminds them, fiddling with some controls on his desk before a holographic monitor appears in front of them. On it, they see Cloud hurrying down a hallway, arms wrapped around himself defensively, body trembling from head to toe – perhaps Rufus was right, watching this is painful enough. The boy stops suddenly, glancing around frantically as if checking to see if he had been followed. Then he yanks open a door, slips inside, and closes the door just as quickly. “Well, we know he returned to his room at first.” As the playback continues, they see two more cadets enter the hallway.

_“Hey! We’re gonna be late!”_

Sephiroth’s eyes narrow when the cadets stop right outside of Cloud’s room. If they had done something to the boy, he would be the one hunting them down this time.

_“Did you hear that?”_

_“No…? Stop stalling, dude, and get your textbook. You’re not the one being trained by Sephiroth. It’s not like you can afford to miss classes. Not with that face.”_

_“Shut up, man.”_

_“…He’s kinda pretty. Strife, you know.”_

_“What? Are you into that sort of thing?”_

_“Ha! Not normally, but for him… maybe.”_

Sephiroth snarls without entirely realizing it, at least not until Angeal turns startled eyes on him. “I don’t believe they meant it in the same way as Johnson and his friends.” The man says, trying to reassure him.

“Tell that to our little bird, though.” Genesis says, voice somber, as they watch Cloud race down the hallway as if a Coeurl was at his heels. Rufus changes feeds and on-screen Cloud continues running straight through the lobby and out of the building.

Zack lets out a heartbroken “Cloudy…” as Rufus turns off the video feed and the holographic monitor disappears.

“So, he definitely left the building. A little over two hours ago, it would appear.” Rufus states, a frown on his face. “I would like the four of you to search the plate for him. I have eyes on the ground who can search the slums. Zack, I’m sure Ms. Gainsborough is familiar with them, used to go by the name Avalanche. Could you ask her to assist in their search?”

“Yes, sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want Cloud to end up in the hospital, but I might have made things worse. I'm sorry!!


	14. Chapter 14

Sitting with Jessie and Wedge in the lot that would one day become Seventh Heaven, Aerith watches with sad eyes as Biggs walks circles in front of them, a deep frown on his face. They had searched all night for Cloud the day before, but had to turn in when it got late. It was morning now, and they were unfortunately no closer to finding their friend.

“Where could he have gone?!” Biggs asks dejectedly as he continues his nervous pacing, Wedge petting the cats next to him miserably.

Jessie sighs, elbows resting on her crossed legs. “Biggs, calm down. You’re going to wear a hole in the ground.”

“How can I calm down?” Biggs sounds distressed as he comes to a stop in front of them, eyes wild. “Cloud is missing and we have no idea where he is! We shouldn’t have stopped the search last night! What if he’s hurt?”

“Ok. That’s exactly what you’re **not** going to do.” Jessie says with a roll of her eyes, pushing herself to her feet and poking a finger into Biggs’s chest, her other hand on her hip. “We’re all worried about Cloud. But overthinking things and freaking out won’t help.”

Biggs’s strangled “But…” goes ignored as Aerith gets up, tutting at the teen. “No buts, Biggs. We would have been no use to Cloud last night in the dark while exhausted. If he had been hurt, we probably would have found him by now. It’s far more likely that he just doesn’t want to be found.” Which was understandable after what had happened.

Wedge stands with a little more difficulty than the rest of them, surrounded by cats as he is. “It’s ok, Toast, Marshmallow, Wasabi. I’ll be back later.” Brushing the fur off his clothes, he turns to Biggs. “We’ll find him, dude. Cloud’s a fighter, he’ll be fine.” Going from the pinched look on the kid’s face, though, Aerith gets the feeling that he might just be saying that to reassure his friend… and possibly himself.

“Ok! We need a plan!” Aerith says, clapping her hands together and trying to remain upbeat for the rest of them. Jessie was right – no matter how concerned they were for their mutual friend, they couldn’t lose hope. Poking Biggs in an exact imitation of Jessie, Aerith winks at the teen. “So, what’s it going to be, Mr. Plan-Maker?”

Jessie whistles approvingly before Biggs can answer, flashing a grin Aerith’s way. “I _like_ you. It is a real shame we never knew each other the first time around.”

“We have plenty of time to make up for that!”

Nodding his head slowly, the deep crease on Biggs’s forehead lessens as he offers them a weak smile. “You’re right. We’re no help to Cloud like this.” Slapping his cheeks, he seems to pull himself out of whatever rut he was in. “Alright. Plan’s the same as yesterday. We’ll take the sectors one-by-one. We know Cloud remembers some things subconsciously at least. So, while we’re looking, pay special attention to the places where he would have spent the most time the first time around…”

Aerith swears she tries to listen, but her attention is drawn away by a group of miserable-looking kids kicking up dirt in front of them. She idly wonders why they aren’t playing, like kids are wont to, when the subject of their conversation reaches her ears.

“What are we supposed to do? We can’t play in the playground with that blond kid there.”

Casting a subtle glance at the others, she sees that they too had heard, eyes shining with hope at the children across the way. It’s not much to go on, just the kid’s hair color, but they don’t have any other leads. She really hopes it is Cloud – from the few calls she’s shared with Zack, she knows he won’t be able to sleep until they find their friend.

“One of us could wake him up?”

A snort. “Not it. He might not be as tall as your dad, but he’s still bigger than the four of us.”

“And he had a twooper outfit!”

Bingo.

A sigh. “It’s _trooper_ , Alexis.”

“Yeah, and it’s called a ‘uniform’.”

Before Wedge can barrel the kids over for more information like he looks like he’s about to, Aerith holds up a hand. “I’ve got this.” Stepping up to the children, she kneels and smiles sweetly. “Hello. That kid you were just talking about sounds an awful lot like my friend. He’s been missing and we’re all really worried about him.” She gestures to the rest of Avalanche behind her. “Do you think you could show us where he is?”

* * *

_One Day Earlier_

Cloud tears through the hallway and rips open the stairwell door – no time to wait for the elevator, not with his body yelling ‘ **Run. Run. Run.** ’ As he starts darting down the stairs, he almost spares brain cells to the thought that that door should have flown off its hinges from how much force he put into opening it, but he needs to get out there. **Now**. The building wasn’t safe. Shinra wasn’t safe.

Logic having taken a firm backseat to the all-consuming panic coursing throughout his body, he doesn’t notice that he’s missed a step until he’s tumbled down the rest of the flight, lying in a heap of bruised limbs and ego. Not bothering to even catalogue his injuries – as long as he can stand, that’s all that matters – he scrambles back to his feet and shoots off down the stairs again, focusing on the way his injuries sting and ache. At least the pain gives him something else to think about.

Agonizing seconds turn to minutes as he continues, not looking back, not daring to stop for even a single breath. When he at long last reaches the bottom of the stairwell, he throws himself out the door, down the remaining two flights to the lobby, and finally – _finally_ – makes it outside. The warm air proves to be a nice contrast to the cold in his chest, drying the tears he hadn’t even noticed falling down his cheeks.

He hurtles through the domed pedestrian bridge leading to the station and jumps onto the first train he sees, slipping through the doors just before they shut. As the train pulls out of the station, shocked eyes meet his own frantic ones and he makes the bone-chilling realization that he’s not alone. The train car he chose is completely full and everybody is staring at **him**. Not even bothering to mask his shaking, he chokes out a weak “E-excuse me” and hurries through the door behind him to the next car and away from all those people.

As the door closes behind him, he almost lets out an undignified screech when he finds the next train car just as full. Was he being punished for something? Was his dad leaving and nobody liking him not enough? Eyes glued to the floor and arms wrapped protectively around him, he barrels through crowded car after crowded car until he comes to what appears to be a freight car. There is no seating, but it’s miraculously devoid of people and the large crates could prove to be a wonderful hiding spot. Situating himself behind one such crate, out of view of the door, he tries to calm his frayed nerves. Breathe in, count to 10, release. Breathe in, count to 10 –

_You can have the leftovers when I’m finished!_

Letting out a strangled whine, he curls into a ball and presses his hands to his ears, hoping beyond hope that that will be enough to block out the bully’s voice. Go away. Go away. Go away. He almost wishes that Zack was there, but he can’t bear the thought of having to explain what had happened, to see the light fade from the teen’s eyes, replaced instead with disgust at the knowledge that Cloud was damaged, was unfit to be his friend.

Even if for some inexplicable reason Zack didn’t abandon him, Cloud couldn’t drag him into his problems, couldn’t rely on him for help. “Got him killed once. Can’t do it again,” he mumbles to himself, unhearing, focused instead on where he should go next. He couldn’t stay on the train forever, he needed to find a safe haven.

When the train stops in the slums, he gets off without thinking. Still trying to figure out a good place to claim sanctuary, his feet lead him, unbidden, down a back road and away from the slums. Before he realizes it, he finds himself in an abandoned part of town, if the crumbling buildings are anything to go by. Surprisingly enough, there is still one building relatively intact. In the center of all the rubble, apparently untouched by time, stands a massive church. A church that looks strikingly familiar and that almost makes him want to cry again. He knows he’s never been here before, but he can’t shake the feeling that he’s finally _home_.

Entering the building, he closes the doors behind him – it would give him more time to get away if somebody had followed him – before walking hesitantly down the wooden floor. He can’t quite rid himself of the sensation that he knows this place, that he’s _lived_ here before, as his eyes rove the sanctum, half expecting to see a bedroll and a chest of… something lying in the corner. There’s absolutely nothing there, though, so he has no idea what’s going on. Maybe this was just a reaction to the trauma – his mind conjuring up a much-needed sense of safety and security.

As he approaches the dais, he notices a bed of flowers – flowers that look a lot like Aerith’s. Did she come here, too? Before he puts too much thought into whether he should leave – he can’t get her involved, either – he notices something in the middle of the flowerbed. Something _lying_ in the flowerbed. Squinting, he notices black clothes and black hair. Eyes going wide, he gasps and then he’s racing towards the prone figure – panic momentarily forgotten. “Tifa!”

Except the flowerbed was empty. Tifa wasn’t there. Nobody was. Gazing around widely, he tries to get the thumping of his heart back under control. What was **wrong** with him?? First he was too weak to protect himself and now he’s seeing things? Some impressive cadet he is. Forget proving everyone in Nibelheim wrong or showing that he _is_ worthy of Tifa’s attention if he **can’t. keep. it. together.**

Huffing out a sigh, he straightens back up and turns to survey the church again. He’s just thinking that those pews could work as a makeshift cot of sorts, when the creaking of the church door alerts him to the fact that he’s no longer alone. Dread back full force, he tries to convince his feet to run, to do something actually productive, but he remains frozen in place. Had he actually been followed? He hadn’t been paying attention since getting off of the train, what with the state of hypnosis he was practically under. If that was more of Johnson’s friends, he was in major trouble. The hallway was bad enough, but now he isn’t even on Shinra property. There’s no one to come to his defense. He really needs to hide, but all he’s capable of is staring, heart thumping, as the front door starts to slowly open inwards.

“Hey! Wait up!”

Whatever petrified spell he was under breaks at the sound of the loud voice and he flees through the door leading to the back of the church as the front one swings shut again. Ducking into a room off the right, he takes the stairs within as high as they go, crawling over a set of crates in the middle of the second flight – honestly, why would anybody put that there? Racing down the hallway to the back of the church, he doesn’t even bother to wonder why his feet seem to know where they’re going, instead focusing on a ladder that may very well be his ticket to freedom.

As he clambers up the ladder to what can only be the attic, he gets the strangest sense that he’s done this before. But who was he running from – Johnson, the other cadets, Turks? Scoffing, he shakes his head at that last one. Why would he even consider the Turks as the bad guys? Yes, their actions were entirely confusing and maybe even mildly headache-inducing, but they had never done anything wrong to Cloud. Heck, one had even protected him.

So lost in his Turkish thoughts, he doesn’t notice the broken piece of floorboard until it connects with his foot and is sent skidding several feet in front of him. Freezing in place again, he hopes beyond hope that his pursuers aren’t in the church yet.

He isn’t that lucky.

“Did you hear that?”

Please say no. Please say no.

“Uh, no?”

Cloud breathes out a silent sigh of relief. He’s still safe.

“Where’s Cloud? I thought you said he would be here?”

Fighting the urge to cry or throw up – why him? – Cloud makes the distressing realization that he actually isn’t safe yet. And even worse, he has confirmation that he is, in fact, being followed. So much for claiming sanctuary in an actual sanctuary. He needs to leave – and fast. Even more importantly, he needs to do so without being discovered, otherwise he’ll just have to go through this whole stomach-churning ordeal all over again.

By some major turn of luck – perhaps he noticed when he first came in – he knows for an absolute fact that there’s a hole in the roof leading outside. That would be a good, discreet way of escaping. Except it’s back through the main sanctum – the only thing that his stalkers would have to do would be look up and he would be discovered. But it’s his only way out right now. He’ll have to be very careful – he can’t fail.

Creeping forward, Cloud seems to miraculously know exactly where to place his feet and how to distribute his weight to remain completely, utterly, and surprisingly silent. This might work. He comes to a stop right before reentering the main sanctum and hides, out of sight, behind some crates and the unbroken portion of wall until he hears the inner door open and close, his followers now in the back of the church. As if trained by a Turk himself, Cloud sneaks, entirely soundless, through the broken wall, across the ceiling joists, and out through the hole in the roof.

He’s never traveled by rooftop before, but it seems to come naturally. Crossing from building to building without a single moment of hesitation, he seems to know exactly where he’s going, as if he’d taken this exact same path before. When he comes to a rusted ladder leading to the top of some pillar, he climbs it carefully, afraid it will break at any second.

**_“You worry too much. I’m not some princess who needs to be coddled.”_ **

Startled by the unexpected voice, Cloud loses his footing and dangles in the air for a few heart-stopping moments, before finally regaining his bearings and clinging to the ladder like some sort of terrified, baby monkey. Looking around fearfully, he realizes that he’s still alone and that the voice must have been another one of the ones in his head. Groaning – when will it stop? – he manages to untangle himself from the thankfully still-intact ladder and make it to the top on somewhat trembling legs.

Once he’s sure his legs won’t give out on him, he takes the stairs down from the pillar two at a time, crosses carefully over a pipe to the next building, then slides down a much larger, deteriorating one to the rooftops across the way, uncertain why he thinks Aerith would find this particularly enjoyable. When he reaches the bottom, he realizes that he’s come to the end of the rooftops and, without thinking, he jumps easily to the ground below. It’s only when he’s safely on the ground and chances a look back, that he realizes, jaw dropping open in shock, that the building he had just jumped from is easily twice as tall as he is. How in all of Gaia had he managed that? He never would have had the confidence or the courage to do that normally.

Shaking himself out of his shock, he realizes, with no small amount of rising dread, that he’s still technically escaping. If he doesn’t hurry, his pursuers will catch up – no time to dwell on his sudden competence now. Racing up the path, he soon finds himself back at the train station. A train station that is far too crowded for his liking. No way is he going to ask for help – nobody would take his side over Johnson’s. Other than that Turk, of course, but he’s a plate away now.

Ducking down a back road, he’s pleasantly surprised to find that it is devoid not only of people but monsters as well. He makes short work of it, as if once more knowing exactly where to go. When he makes it to the end, he finds himself in the heart of the Sector 5 slums. Which is bad – this is where Aerith lives. He can’t… he can’t get her involved. He already had to bury her once, he wouldn’t be able to live through that again.

Cloud comes to an abrupt stop, realizing with a growing sense of confused horror the turn of his rather concerning thoughts. Aerith was still alive, so why did he think that he had buried her at one point? And what are these visions of a white orb of materia falling into a lake? Chalking it up to just another unwanted side-effect of all the trauma – he really doesn’t have time to psychoanalyze himself right now – he rubs away the confounding tears and ignores the sharp pang in his chest. Continuing his flight, he keeps his head down, not making eye contact, as he hurries through Sector 5, unfortunately unable to take some trafficless back road this time.

When he sees Wall Market in the distance, he panics. Going through just that small, populated section of Sector 5 had been bad enough. Having to wade his way through the normally packed entertainment district with the sun starting to set would be an absolute nightmare. Nope, definitely not doing that. Instead, he turns down a side road and finds himself in what appears to be an abandoned expressway. This would work well enough.

Thankfully deserted, too, by the time he makes it through the expressway, it’s dark out. He finds himself in an empty playground, which he figures must be the one outside Wall Market that Zack had mentioned. The thought of the other teen leaves him staring at the cat slide, a painfully bittersweet feeling in his chest. What he wouldn’t give to be able to rewind time and just go back to gazing up at the smog-covered sky, Zack telling him ridiculous stories at his side. But he can’t rewind time and he can’t see the other teen ever again – not after failing so spectacularly.

Turning away from the slide, his memories too much, he heads to the other end of the playground and a climbing structure in the shape of a cat or maybe a bear. As he walks around the side and peers through the opening to see if there really is a sewer grate underneath like he feels there should be, he hears an aggravated shout that chills him to the bone.

“Dammit! Where could he be!?”

His pursuers had caught up.

Not sparing any thought to his newly and hastily formed plan, he scrambles underneath the cat-bear-thing and huddles up against the inner wall, knees pulled to his chest. Maybe if he’s really quiet, they won’t find him. Several agonizing seconds pass before Cloud hears footsteps – a telltale sign that his followers had entered the playground.

He hears a frustrated sigh. “He’s not here either.”

“It’s ok. The others are looking for him, too. We’ll find him.”

Cloud doesn’t have to worry about keeping quiet anymore since he had totally stopped breathing at that admission. Those two weren’t the only ones looking for him. He was seriously screwed. He tightens the grip around his knees, trying his best not to cry from all the emotions roiling inside of him, the sheer panic keeping him from even attempting to determine if the voices on the other side sound familiar.

“It’s getting late, we should probably turn in soon.”

“Let’s check Wall Market first.”

When he can no longer hear the sound of their footsteps, Cloud sucks in a ragged breath. They were searching everywhere for him. Was Johnson really that popular? Even when the bully is out of the picture, the rest of the cadets will still drop everything to search for him, to show him a lesson? He needs to leave Midgar. But the gates are closed this late at night, not to mention that he’s already exhausted from all the running. …Ok, wait ‘til morning, then flee the city.

He gets the feeling that sleeping would be futile – there’s far too much built-up stress, frustration, and terror for his mind to take a break – so he stares blindly in front of him, arms wrapped tightly around his knees, willing the hours to pass quickly. He doesn’t register when he starts to slowly rock back and forth in a subconscious attempt to calm himself. And he certainly doesn’t notice when his eyes slip shut, exhaustion finally taking over, and he falls into a mercifully Johnson-less slumber.

* * *

“Hey! Wait up!”

Aerith turns at the sound of the voice, the door she had been opening swinging shut behind her. When she had heard the news from Zack, she hadn’t even bothered waiting, she had run straight to the church – Cloud had to be there. She just didn’t realize that Biggs had followed her. Or that she had even passed him on her single-minded mission to find her missing friend.

Coming to a stop just before the steps, Biggs gazes up at the church in awe for a second, before turning a pinched look towards her. So, he had already heard. “You really think he’s here?”

Aerith nods. “This is where we first met. Well, really met.” Her smile is sad as she continues, “He may not remember, but I think he would feel a pull to this place. I think he would feel safe here.”

When they enter the church, it’s very easily apparent that Cloud is not in the main sanctum. Aerith is just wondering if perhaps she was only projecting onto Cloud – she may feel safe here, but that doesn’t mean he would, too – when she hears something scraping from above them. “Did you hear that?”

Biggs turns confused eyes on her. “Uh, no?”

Hopes now dashed, she guesses the sound must have been ghosts of the past… or rather future. She sighs to herself as they walk past the pews. She had been certain that they would find him here. Half expected to see him in the flower bed again.

“Where’s Cloud? I thought you said he would be here?” Biggs asks, looking all over as if afraid that he’ll miss something, even though the room is very obviously empty aside from them.

“I thought he would be… Let’s check the back.”

The back seems just as empty, but they look anyway. Aerith heads straight for the attic while Biggs checks the rest of the church, but they still come up Cloud-less. Leaving the church behind, when they get back to the train station, Aerith suggests they split up again – she takes the back roads while Biggs sticks with the main one. But, while Aerith checks every nook and cranny and trusts that Biggs had done the same on his end, when they meet up outside of Sector 5, they both have nothing to show for it.

Their search in the heart of Sector 5 proves slightly more fruitful when an older man they question claims to have seen somebody fitting Cloud’s description hurrying off in the direction of Wall Market. Something about that not sitting right with her, though – Cloud wouldn’t have willingly gone to Wall Market by himself in the traumatized state that he’s in – Aerith suggests they check the abandoned expressway first. Unfortunately, when they reach the end, they’re still no closer to finding their friend, having found no sign of Cloud anywhere.

“Dammit! Where could he be!?” Biggs yells to the sky, clearly frustrated with their lack of results.

“I’m sorry, Biggs. I thought he would be there.” Aerith knows she has to remain strong for everybody – Zack has been getting more and more upset with each passing hour – but she just wants to cry for her hurting friend or scream the pain away like Biggs.

The teen turns a guilty look her way, perhaps realizing the upset turn her thoughts had taken. “Hey, it’s ok. None of this is your fault. The church and the expressway were both good places to check. Cloud would have definitely not been comfortable going to Wall Market with how worked-up he is.” He smiles apologetically as he continues, “Besides, you said that the two of you had visited both before. Those are the places we should be focusing on, since Cloud might be drawn to them due to a sense of familiarity.”

She almost giggles at the apprehensive look on his face. She had forgotten that he was technically older. He no doubt felt the need to look out for everybody. Maybe she doesn’t have to pretend to be strong, they could just lean on each other. “The playground up ahead is another place we visited. Wanna check it out?”

“After you,” Biggs says, holding out a hand.

Aerith does giggle at that. “What a gentleman.”

The playground is unfortunately empty as well, no Cloud in sight, and Biggs lets out a sigh. “He’s not here either.”

Aerith places a hand on his arm – it was her turn to console him, her turn to return the favor. “It’s ok. The others are looking for him, too. We’ll find him.” Or at least she hopes so. They hadn’t had much luck so far.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Biggs mumbles, though it sounds like it’s more for himself than anything, and let’s his eyes rove the playground one last time, making sure he hadn’t missed anything.

“It’s getting late, we should probably turn in soon.” She doesn’t want to stop looking, but it’ll be too dark to be of any help to anybody, especially Cloud.

Biggs hesitates, face the picture of reluctance. “Let’s check Wall Market first.”

Unfortunately, Wall Market proves to be another let down and they return home tired and depressed. They promise to meet again first thing in the morning at Sector 7 since that was where the other three spent most of their time. Aerith doesn’t mind making the trip, though Biggs did try to insist on meeting in Sector 5 instead.

* * *

“Cloud!”

He turns at the startled voice of his companion, one hand still holding the ladder in front of him. The walkway underneath them shakes and he watches alarmed as a company of Sahagins shoot from the murky, green-tinted water with a growl.

_“----d.”_

Gasping, his companions back up uneasily as the monsters advance on them, tridents brandished and tongues hanging limp from their mouths. Who was he traveling with? And why were they in the sewers? The two in front of him look feminine, but their features are hazy. One wields a staff and the other appears to be a martial artist, but he doesn’t know anybody who meets that description. Definitely no time to focus on that, though – it would be insulting to even try given their current situation. Finally releasing the ladder, Cloud rushes forward, taking point and drawing his sword, more than ready to protect his friends.

“Looks like they’re hungry for more,” the one from before says, fists raised in front of her, stance apprehensive.

The worried voice of their other companion pipes up from behind them. “We’re not delicious! Not even a little bit!”

Ignoring her warning, the Sahagins snarl as they continue their steady approach, their numbers seeming to grow with every step. This was bad, really bad, there were far too many of them for Cloud and his friends to handle by themselves. Jerking his head in the direction of the ladder, he keeps the monsters in his periphery as he commands, “Get going.” Not dwelling on the fact that his voice sounds deeper for some reason, he slashes at an attacking monster as the martial artist makes short work of another.

His words had been directed at the both of them, but while he hears the retreating footsteps of the staff wielder – was she their healer? – the martial artist stays behind, coming to stand back-to-back with him, attention never leaving the ever-approaching Sahagins. He won’t let her get hurt, though. Can’t see her get hurt. “You too!” He urges the warrior, eyes still trained on the monsters in front of them.

“But there’s too many of them!” She counters, refusing to move from her spot guarding his back.

“Not for me.” Dang. Since when did he sound so cool? If only Tifa was there to see him. To hear him.

She hesitates a moment more before finally taking a step back. “Hurry,” she begs before running for the ladder.

The walkway shakes once more as another Sahagin charges, but a single swipe of Cloud’s sword sends it soaring over the railing and back into the sewer water below.

_“---ud.”_

“Last warning! Back off, or die!” He keeps his posture straight as he slowly backs up, trying to appear as threatening as possible. Wow. He really needs to take notes – he never sounds, or acts, this confident. The kids back in Nibelheim would totally take him seriously if he did.

Cutting down another Sahagin, he almost spares a thought to the fact that he is wielding Commander Hewley’s sword – when did that happen? – but instead takes the opportunity to start his own retreat. Before long, though, he hears the slapping of webbed feet behind him. Turning at the top of the stairs, he takes a quick swipe at the nearest monster – enough to stun, but not kill – before kicking it straight into the rest behind, bowling over the lot of them. Starting his escape anew, when he’s finally to the ladder, he spares a single glance back before beginning his hasty ascent. Halfway up, he has to tighten his grip around the rungs when the ladder itself starts to shake.

_“--oud."_

Nearly leaping the rest of the way – it would be bad if the monsters were following them out of the sewer – he vaults out of the manhole and hastily secures the cover over the opening. He’s just thinking that that should do it, when the shaking intensifies.

_“-loud.”_

Crap. Were they trying to dislodge the manhole cover? That was **really** bad. Throwing himself down over the cover without a second thought, he tries to keep it in place as the entire world seems to quake around him.

_“Cloud.”_

The world fades to black and it takes him several long moments to realize that he was dreaming, and several more to notice that the shaking he’s feeling is not some horde of Sahagins trying to force open the sewer grate, but rather somebody trying to wake him.

“Cloud.”

Eyes flying open, he sits up in a blind panic – he had been found. When his eyes focus, though, he stops and blinks at the person sitting in front of him, not entirely comprehending this turn of events. Aerith, of all people, kneels in front of him, happy smile on her face and a single tear running down her cheek. Reaching forward slowly, she taps him on the nose.

“Found you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- As much as I wanted to have Cloud find Aerith right away (or vice-versa), I love the idea of him subconsciously remembering the training he got from Vincent in the past/future and being super stealthy because of it.  
> \- I promise, the 1sts will be in the next chapter!


	15. Chapter 15

“Found you.”

Cloud stares completely shocked at the girl in front of him. Aerith was the one who had found him, not one of Johnson’s lackeys. But Johnson’s lackeys were still looking for him, right? Eyes going wide at the thought, frantic terror once more coursing through his veins, he realizes that Aerith shouldn’t be here. He’ll just get her into trouble. Trying to put as much distance between the two of them as possible, he goes to scramble away, but his back comes into contact with the inner wall of the cat-bear before he’s even slid back more than an inch. “A-Aerith, you shouldn’t be here. You’ll just get hurt.” His voice sounds strained and he knows he’s on the verge of tears. “I don’t want you dying because of me.”

The look in her eyes is sad, but the smile never leaves her face. “Silly. Nobody’s going to die because of you.” He opens his mouth to protest, but Aerith’s hands are on his face, one thumb casually wiping a tear away. Her hands glow softly and then a gentle warmth floods his body, calming him to the core. “Feel better?”

He nods dumbly in response, not entirely understanding what had just happened. Or even how it had happened. When Aerith had touched his face, it was as if the all-consuming panic he had felt since the day before had completely evaporated, replaced instead with the sense that everything would be ok. The trauma and pain still remained, but he no longer felt like the world was out to get him, his body no longer yelling at him to run as far and as fast as he could.

“Ready to go?” Her smile is serene as she holds out a hand. For some reason, Cloud can’t shake the feeling that he’s looking at an angel.

Voice still not working, he nods again and gingerly takes her hand. Crawling out from under the cat-bear proves to be rather awkward one-handed, but Aerith refuses to let him go, just like Zack had all those weeks ago. He barely has time to straighten up and realize that it is most definitely morning, when Aerith is pulling him into a tight hug. “We’ve been so worried about you,” she whispers for only him to hear, her breath tickling the tip of his ear.

Bringing his arms up slowly, awkwardly, to return the unexpected hug, he’s overcome with the strongest sense of relief. The thought _I’ve wanted to do this for sooo long_ bounces through his head, but that doesn’t make any sense. He hasn’t known Aerith for that long, so why does it feel like he’s wanted this for forever?

Lost in the feel of her arms, the smell of flowers that surrounds her, and the sweet nothings being whispered in his ear – “You’re ok. You’re safe. Nobody’s going to hurt you.” – he doesn’t realize that there are others there, too. Not until a strangled “Bro…” reaches his ears.

Pulling away from Aerith, albeit reluctantly, he turns to find Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge in the playground, too. He's just registered the worried looks on the teens’ faces – and he really hopes that has more to do with the fact that they just saw him crawl out from underneath what was most definitely a child’s toy and **not** that everybody in Midgar knows his business – when Wedge launches himself at him with another, louder cry of “Bro!”

Jessie and Biggs try to stop the boy, they really do, but he proves too fast for them, slipping through their fingers with ease. As he scrambles over, Wedge looks like he wants to hug him, too, but at the sight of Cloud tensing, seems to reconsider and stops an arm’s reach away, vibrating anxiously. “Are you ok, Bro?”

“I…” Cloud is shocked to find that he doesn’t really know how to answer that. His brow scrunches up as he tries to determine if he actually is ok. He’s not hurt physically, aside from falling down the stairs, but that was entirely his fault. He no longer feels like he’s going to burst at the seams from all the terror building inside him, but the pain is still there. As is the desire to just curl into his bed and cry the hurt away.

A hand lands on his shoulder and he looks up to find Biggs watching him, a sad look on the teen’s face. “Hey, it’s ok. You don’t need to know right away.” The teen studies him closely for a moment, as if trying to plan his next words. “We’re sorry for what happened.” Cloud clenches his fists instinctively, definitely not in the mood to talk about this now. Luckily, Biggs can either tell that he’s not ready or doesn’t feel comfortable talking about the incident himself, the teen instead saying, “We’re so glad that we found you, man. We’ve been searching since yesterday.”

“Oh.” Cloud gapes at the teen, guilt starting to worm its way into his chest – he had inconvenienced people again. “I’m sorry…”

Biggs throws his hands up in his own form of apology. “Hey, hey. No need to worry about us. We’d do it again in a heartbeat. We care about you, more than you even know.”

The teen’s admission does little to help his gawking. He knew that they seemed to know him, but they cared about him so much that they would willingly spend their free time trying to make sure he was alright? That definitely wouldn’t have happened in Nibelheim. Torn between apologizing again and asking just what it was they saw in him – what was the appropriate response in this situation? – he’s saved from his conflicting thoughts when Jessie joins their impromptu huddle.

Laughing incredulously, the girl gestures somewhat amazed at the cat-bear structure. “Were you hiding under there the entire time?!”

He rubs an arm a little embarrassed – he supposes the playground was a strange choice for a hiding spot. “Well, I happened on a church first and was planning on sleeping there, but then I heard some of the other cadets looking for me, so I ran.” He clutches his uniform top above his heart as he feels the hints of fear rear their ugly head. Please, not again. Taking a deep breath, he’s surprised to find that that’s it. This time, his emotions seem to be far more controllable. The fear was still there, but it didn’t feel like it was trying to eat him alive. He’s not sure what Aerith did, but she seriously is amazing.

“You were at the church?” Apparently, it’s Biggs’s turn to look stunned, staring at him as if he was the one asking random strangers whether they remembered who-knows-what. At his nod, the teen throws an amazed look Aerith’s way. “You were right. He was there.”

Instead of acknowledging Biggs’s words, Aerith frowns, a troubled look on her face. “What do you mean the other cadets were looking for you?”

“Don’t worry! We can take care of those punks!” Jessie interjects, flexing an arm as proof.

Wedge slaps his chest in agreement. “Yeah, we got your back, Bro!”

Alarmed, Cloud’s surprised he doesn’t get whiplash from how hard he shakes his head. “I don’t want any of you getting into trouble because of me.” Doesn’t want them getting hurt after they had already done so much for him.

“Nobody’s going to get into trouble because of you, Cloud.” At his side once more, Aerith cradles both of his hands in hers. “Now, did you see the cadets looking for you?”

“I… no.” He shakes his head dejectedly. He had been too scared. “I didn’t want them to see me. I heard them looking for me when I was in the attic. Somehow they knew I would be there.” And that had been terrifying enough to find out. “There was a hole in the roof, so I snuck out that way. I was wandering around this playground when they caught up.” Fidgeting in her grasp, he really wishes he had a hand free to run through his hair – if for nothing else than to distract himself from how terribly self-conscious he feels. “I… panicked. So I hid. And that’s when I heard them say that the others were looking for me, too, and that they would find me.” Her eyes start to shine as he continues. “We really should go, though. I don’t know when they’ll be back.”

There’s something of a guilty look on Aerith’s face and an entirely heartbroken one on Biggs’s as Aerith squeezes Cloud’s still trapped hands. “Those weren’t cadets, Cloud. That was Biggs and me.”

“Oh.”

“Cloud…” Biggs voice breaks as he speaks. “I’m sorry, buddy. We weren’t trying to make you feel like you were being chased.”

Cloud manages to pull a hand free this time, carding it through his blond spikes. He still doesn’t like seeing the teen upset. “I-it’s ok. I’m just glad it was you and not Johnson’s friends.”

“You don’t need to worry about those creeps anymore!” Jessie cackles, shooting a finger gun in his direction. “They had the fear of Shinra put in them!”

“It’s a shame they didn’t let us put the fear of Avalanche in them, too…” Wedge grumbles, crossing his arms in front of him petulantly.

Aerith giggles – _giggles_ – at Wedge, and Cloud is floored to find a predatory edge to her otherwise angelic face. “Don’t worry. Vincent took care of that.”

Cloud’s eyes jump from teen to teen, trying to unravel the hidden meaning in their words. “What do you mean ‘the fear of Shinra’?” It certainly doesn’t sound good for the cadets. He almost feels sorry for them, but he’s just so relieved to not have to deal with them anymore.

There’s still a rather vindictive gleam in Aerith’s eyes as she lists off the cadets’ punishments. “Let’s see… Vincent used them for target practice. Genesis lobbed fireballs at them. Reno launched a volley of electricity and then prodded Johnson like an unruly pig. Oh! And Angeal had to keep Zack restrained so he wouldn’t throttle the bully. Zack wasn’t entirely pleased about that, though…”

Cloud feels his eyes go wide and Biggs grimaces at the no doubt scandalized look on his face. “They were going to rape you, Cloud. Honestly, they deserve far worse.” The teen looks entirely put out that ‘worse’ wouldn’t happen as he concedes, “I guess I’ll have to make do with them being sent to prison.”

“P-prison?!” The squeak to his voice is not something he’s proud of, but prison was the last thing he was expecting.

“Rufus probably wanted to gut them, but no doubt felt obligated to be fair – you know, not follow in his father’s footsteps and all that.” Jessie grins darkly. “Though perhaps he wanted to prolong their suffering – Corel will **not** be kind to them.”

“T-the President?” Well, it seems that the confusion was back to live, rent-free, throughout his entire being. He still was at a loss as to why the President was so interested in him. Yes, he knows that he was Sephiroth’s student, but he had figured that that was null and void after… well, everything. Even if for some reason he hadn’t lost Sephiroth’s approval, that still didn’t explain why the President would be so upset over him – assuming Jessie wasn’t exaggerating, that is.

Aerith takes pity on him, a comforting hand landing on his shoulder. “Rufus was very disturbed when he heard about what happened. He was the one who asked us to look for you. Not that we needed to be asked.” The others all nod in agreement as Aerith’s hand slides down to grasp his once more. “Now, let’s get you back to my house. I’m sure Zack and the rest of the 1sts will be happy to hear that you’re safe. I don’t think they’ve stopped looking.”

“They’re SOLDIERs!” Jessie laughs. “Their eyes glow! They’re probably their own living, breathing flashlight!”

Something about that doesn’t sit right with Cloud, doesn’t _sound_ right, but he’s far too focused on the tears welling up in his own eyes, the realization that he had failed somebody once again just too much. “I-I’m sorry…”

“Nuh-uh. None of that.” The dangerous tint is gone and Aerith’s voice has regained the soft and loving lilt that he had so quickly grown fond of. “Nobody is mad at you. Nobody blames you for anything. Ok?”

“O-ok,” he says, using his free arm to rub at his eyes.

Aerith smiles and loops her arm through his, holding him in place at her side. “Let’s go to my house and my mom can whip you up something to eat. Her food is the best – you’ll eat yourself stupid!”

He goes to nod, too worn out to protest and stomach most definitely growling at the thought of food, when Wedge makes a sound of approval from next to him. “Sounds great! Let’s go!” The boy exclaims, throwing a hand high in the air.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Biggs interrupts, holding out an arm to restrain the boy. “They’ll have enough to deal with what with all those SOLDIERs there.”

Wedge pouts, entirely put out. “But… But… No fair!”

As Aerith leads him away, Cloud can’t stop himself from glancing at the others one last time, the strangest sense of déjà vu growing in his gut. As if he had overheard a similar conversation before. But where?

* * *

Zack groans. Where could Cloud have gone?? He had searched every shop, hotel, you name it, that he had come across. He had scoured the train station, not to mention all of the trains. The conductors had not been happy with him, something about him shitting all over their schedule, but he was on a mission. He had to find Cloud. That was far more important than their schedule. And he had absolutely no qualm pulling rank on them.

He’s just about to tear through _Mori’s Armor Emporium –_ and doesn’t that bring back memories – when a hand falls on his shoulder, pulling him backwards. He lashes out without thinking, but Angeal picks his fist out of the air as if it was no more threatening than a feather. “Zack. Slow down.”

“But we can’t find him, ‘geal!”

“I know, Puppy.” Angeal releases his fist, but keeps the hold on his shoulder, grounding him. “We’re all worried. But rushing will just lead to mistakes. And fear will prove to be your downfall. You need to calm down.”

Tugging at his hair, Zack whines, totally ignoring the thought that this wasn’t helping the whole ‘puppy’ thing. “But…”

Angeal squeezes his shoulder, cutting off his protest. “Genesis and Sephiroth are looking, too. We’ll find him.”

_Wark! Wark!_

“Oh!” Zack jolts at the sound of his ringtone. Ripping his PHS from his pocket, he barely checks the caller ID before answering with renewed hope. “Aerith? Please tell me you found him.”

_“We did. He’s fine.”_ Zack practically collapses with relief, sagging against Angeal for support – thankfully, the man was built like an oak tree. If his former mentor minds him grappling him like some sort of overgrown monkey, the man doesn’t say anything. _“I brought him back to my place.”_

“Great. We’ll be there soon. You’re an absolute saint, Aerith.”

She giggles at him. _“Sounds good. Just don’t do anything reckless.”_

“Reckless? Me?”

_“Yes, you. Silly.”_ The mirth in her voice is unmistakable – though whether it’s due to his antics or to having found Cloud, he’ll never know. _“Behave.”_

Oof. She knew him so well. At least there was more than one way to get to the slums. “Anything for my lady.”

When he hangs up and turns to Angeal, he finds the man regarding him with something akin to amused concern. “Your ringtone is the cry of a Chocobo.”

It’s phrased as a statement, but Zack feels like there’s a question in there somewhere. Smiling brightly – he hasn’t felt this good since finding out Cloud was missing – he resists the urge to bounce as he answers, “Yeah! It reminds me of Cloud!”

Angeal sighs, amusement morphing seamlessly into exasperation, and runs a hand over his face. “I won’t tell the kid.”

* * *

_“Hi, this is Cloud Strife. I’m not available right now, but leave your name and number and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”_

Sephiroth sighs. The prerecorded message sounds like some sort of generic template, as if Cloud hadn’t known what to say. Or perhaps never expected anybody to call, so hadn’t put that much thought into it. Not that that small amount of deductive work helps him, he still has no idea where the boy is.

He and Genesis had searched half of the plate, Angeal and Zack the other, but their efforts had still been for naught. Calling the boy was apparently useless, too, but that didn’t stop him from trying anyway, silently hoping that each time would produce a different outcome. If they didn’t hear from Avalanche soon, he would probably scour the slums himself.

“You’re fretting, dear.”

Turning, he sees Genesis exiting _Philosopher’s Stones_ – interesting name for a materia shop – a resigned look on his face. So, that had been fruitless, too. “I am not fretting.” He was concerned for his student, that’s all.

Genesis snorts at his denial. “Oh, yes you are. There’s a terrible crease to your brow,” he says, tapping the center of his own forehead in emphasis. “You look like you’re planning to march down to the slums and search the entire place by yourself.”

“How…?” Sephiroth regards his friend incredulously. He didn’t think he was that easy to read.

“Because I’ve been thinking the same thing. I’m worried for him.” A dark look passes over the SOLDIER’s face and his bracer lights up as if in memory of the events from the day before. “And I’m still incredibly furious with those cadets. The longer we spend up here on this plate unable to find Cloud, the more I’m tempted to return to the Shinra Building and burn them alive, Rufus be damned.”

Sephiroth is very tempted to agree, but he can’t let himself fall down that path again. If he was going to be better this time, he couldn’t burn things to the ground at the slightest inclination. Regardless of how much he wants to. Holding his rage in check for who knows how many times since the afternoon before, he and Genesis continue their sweep of the sector.

Given the sheer number of shops, hotels, and even playgrounds that they’ve combed, he fully expects to be on the front page of the tabloids tomorrow. Though, what crazy headline they come up with is anybody’s guess.

_Surprise Inspection of Midgar!_

_Hide and Seek: SOLDIER Style!_

_A Cinderella Story: The General’s Search for His Runaway Lover!_

With his luck, it would probably be the latter. It’s a shame Cloud doesn’t remember, though – his reaction would be _priceless_. He can almost imagine the scowl on the boy’s face as he ransacks the entire city in an attempt to destroy every last article. It would all be in vain, though – Sephiroth would definitely keep several copies for himself. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t torture the boy this time around, but the promise of that disgruntled look gracing Cloud’s fair features might prove to be too powerful a siren’s call for him to resist. Well, he supposes that the sight of this Cloud blushing over the headline would still be rather endearing.

“You do know you can change your ringtone, right?”

Pulled rather abruptly from his Cloud-filled thoughts, Sephiroth responds on auto-pilot, “This is sufficient.” It’s Genesis’s scoff that makes him realize that his PHS is actually ringing. Pressing the device to his ear, he answers without thinking, “Cloud??”

_“Yeah, he’s been found. He’s with Aerith right now.”_

Scowling at the realization that it’s Zack on the other end and not Cloud, it takes him longer than he cares to admit to register the teen’s words. When he does, relief blooms in his chest and tension he didn’t realize was there bleeds from his shoulders. He ignores the perceptive glint to Genesis’s eyes, who no doubt had heard the entire conversation and picked up on the reasoning behind his irritation. “Great. We’ll meet you and Angeal at the train station.”

_“Yeah, about that…”_ Zack drawls out, unusually hesistant. _“I was thinking of another way down.”_

Sephiroth sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand. Not this again. “Zackary, we’ve been over this before. Jumping from the plate is not an acceptable way to get to the slums. I don’t care if you’ve survived the fall before.”

_“I know, I know…”_ Zack responds, entirely exasperated, as if Sephiroth was a nagging mother hen. _“Not what I’m talking about. There’s another way down that’s waaaay faster than the train.”_

Looking to Genesis, Sephiroth sees that his interest is piqued, too. “I’m listening.”

* * *

“Here you go.”

Cloud stares amazed as Aerith’s mom sets a large stack of the fluffiest pancakes he has ever seen in front of him. He’s still trying to wrap his head around the fact that not only had she agreed to shelter him – an almost stranger – but then had also gone out of her way to feed him. And not once had she complained either. “Uh… Thank you, Mrs. Gainsborough. Sorry for – “

“Oh, don’t you even think about apologizing again, young man.” Her voice is strict, but there’s a kind look to her face as she places one hand on her hip and uses the other to point a spatula at him. “Aerith gave me the rundown on what happened. I would never leave you to fend for yourself.”

Cloud turns his gaze to the checkered tabletop, hiding his face and trying to will away the prickling in his eyes. It had been just him and his mother for the longest time. Then just him and his roommates when he first joined Shinra. He still couldn’t fully believe that so many people thought he was worth something now. He kept expecting to wake up and find it all just a fanciful dream. Swallowing in what hopefully isn’t a vain attempt to keep the tears at bay, he manages a strained, breathy, “T-thank you.”

He can hear the warmth in her voice when she responds, “I’m glad you’re safe and sound.”

That simple statement does it for him and when she turns around, he has to rub his eyes vigorously to hide their watery response to her unexpected kindness. Once he’s sure his eyes won’t betray him again, he’s once more done in when he takes the first bite of pancake. He can’t help the moan that escapes him – Aerith was right, her mom _is_ an excellent cook.

There’s a chuckle from the kitchen and then he hears Mrs. Gainsborough’s highly amused voice. “That good, huh?”

“Y-yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

Aerith drops into the seat next to him with a sigh, completely distracting Cloud from his embarrassment. “Hopefully he doesn’t jump from the plate this time.” Shaking her head, she mumbles to herself, “Wouldn’t put it past him, though.”

Cloud pauses, pancake-laden fork halfway to his mouth. “J-jump from the plate?!”

Giggling at the horrified look on his face, Aerith winks at him. “Zack’s not the most… tactful of people. Now that he knows where you are, he’ll no doubt be looking for the fastest way down from the plate.”

The fork falls from his hand, forgotten, landing back on his plate with a clatter. “He wouldn’t actually jump, would he??” His mouth is hanging open, but whether from shock or from his thwarted attempt at eating, he doesn’t know.

“Probably not. I think he has more common sense than that.” Aerith frowns, a far-off look to her eyes. “Though, the first time I met him, he did fall through the roof of the church.”

Her words don’t exactly reassure him, but before he can press for more, Mrs. Gainsborough is sliding another plate in front of her daughter. “Here you go, baby.” Waving the spatula at both of them this time, Aerith’s mother says, “Now, less chit-chatting and more eating. If breakfast gets cold because those friends of yours show up, I’m not making more.”

* * *

Breakfast over, Cloud’s just offered to help clean up (“You’re such a well-mannered young man!”), when they hear it. A thrumming overhead that only seems to grow louder and louder. He can’t exactly pinpoint the sound, but he feels like he should associate it with the Turks. Mrs. Gainsborough, though, seems to know exactly what it is, the woman scoffing as she lifts the dirty plates out of his hands. “Did they honestly take a helicopter?”

Aerith giggles as she wipes down the table. “At least it’s better than jumping from the plate.” She seems lighter somehow, as if reassured that her boyfriend hadn’t actually done anything too careless.

Shaking her head, Mrs. Gainsborough smiles down at Cloud. “Sounds like they were really worried about you. You’ve got some good friends, young man.”

“Oh… I… Thanks?” Cloud feels his embarrassment return as Aerith’s mother takes her load to the kitchen. He had been certain that nobody would have wanted to see him again. Even though Aerith had worked to disabuse him of that idea, the nagging voice still remained, whispering dark little promises to him that the 1sts would find somebody better. He never would have imagined that they would have been so worried about him that they would commandeer a helicopter to get to the slums faster.

The sound of water from the kitchen faucet and the tinkling of china is enough to pull Cloud from his depressing thoughts as Mrs. Gainsborough starts cleaning up their mess. “If they land near the train station, we should still have some time before they get here.” She calls to her daughter, not bothering to turn away from the sink.

Aerith hums, sounding unconvinced. “I don’t know. There’s that big, empty area between here and Leaf House – they’ll probably set down there. It’s closer and we won’t have four of the most recognizable faces in Midgar trampling through the heart of the slums.”

Mrs. Gainsborough sighs in resignation, turning off the faucet and drying her hands on a nearby towel. “Guess that’ll have to wait til later,” she says to herself, joining them in the front room and sliding into the chair furthest from the door. “I’m not cooking for them, though.”

Aerith giggles again as she drags Cloud to the middle of the room, hand resting in his. “Don’t worry, they’ll be here soon,” she whispers to him. He tries to return her smile, but he knows it’s strained. Now that the 1sts are so close, the butterflies are fluttering in his stomach again. He has to figure out what to say, how to apologize for wasting everybody’s time.

Seconds pass agonizingly slow as he frets – would they forgive him even if he wasn’t prepared? – Aerith’s hand the only thing anchoring him, the only thing keeping him from dissolving further into an insecure mess. The rushed clomping of boots is the only warning he has before the front door is flung open, Zack breathing heavily on the other side of the threshold. Wild mako eyes land on him and a watery, relieved smile falls over Zack’s face.

“Spike.”

He barely registers Aerith dropping his hand as Zack strides purposely across the room, the SOLDIER’s eyes rooting him to the spot. Before he realizes it, he’s being pulled into warm arms, one hand curled around his head, fingers twined in his hair, holding him to Zack’s chest, the other wrapped firmly around his waist. “Spikey,” the teen’s voice is raw as he speaks, knocking Cloud’s breath out of him faster than a punch to the gut would. “You ran away.”

“I’m sorry, Zack.” The words aren’t accusatory in the slightest, but there are still tears in Cloud’s eyes. He knows he’ll just make a mess of Zack’s ribbed sweater, but he can’t bring himself to care. Something about being in Zack’s arms just feels so right. So _safe_.

“I-I thought…” Zack’s voice breaks and the arms around him tighten almost painfully, but Cloud doesn’t care. It feels so good. “I thought I would never see you again.”

“I’m sorry.” Cloud’s arms curve around the teen’s back, hands clutching the straps of his harness as if they were his only lifeline. Shaking in Zack’s hold, he remembers the visions he had in the Combat Simulator all those weeks ago. If his disappearance had caused the teen even half of the distress that he had felt at seeing Zack’s apparition walking away, then he had hurt the teen. A lot. “I’m so sorry.”

Zack sniffs from above him, thumb running circles along Cloud’s hipbone as if reassuring himself that this was real. “I’m so glad we found you, buddy.” Sighing, Zack pulls him impossibly closer, thumb still drawing patterns, acting as if he has no intention of letting go anytime soon.

“Zackary, please let the boy breathe.”

Zack turns his head to look at the newcomer, but makes no move to release Cloud. Instead, he curls himself more protectively around his willing captive as he responds almost petulantly, “I found him first, ‘geal.”

Cloud can’t see Commander Hewley, surrounded by Zack as he is, but there’s no mistaking the man’s sigh. “Only cause you jumped from the helicopter before we even landed, Puppy, and ran straight here.”

“Snoozers, losers!” Cloud can almost feel the tongue that Zack has no doubt stuck out at his former mentor.

While Cloud is half-tempted to stay wrapped up in Zack forever, he still needs to apologize to the other 1sts for being such a burden. Savoring the feel of the teen’s arms for a few selfish seconds longer, when he finally goes to extract himself, Zack spins his head around, eyes worried. “Cloudy, wait…”

“I promise I won’t run again.” It would be absolutely ridiculous of him to even try running with four 1st Class SOLDIERs there, but it seems to be enough consolation for Zack, who releases him with a sad sigh.

Stepping out from around his friend, he forgets everything around him, his breath leaving his lungs in a soft _whoosh_ , when he sees the look on the General’s face. Sephiroth stands frozen in place, staring at him, unblinking, with a single-minded intensity, as if worried that he was just an illusion and would disappear at the slightest movement. Not even sure what he was supposed to say anymore, all Cloud can manage is a soft “I’m sorry.”

This seems to be enough to break whatever spell the General was under and Sephiroth takes three long strides across the room before lifting Cloud easily from the floor. For the second time in as many minutes, Cloud finds himself enveloped in strong arms.

_“Cloud.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I read somewhere that the word 'materia' might be a reference to 'Prima materia', which is the base material required to make the Philosopher's stone. So, I thought Philosopher's Stones would be a pretty cool name for a materia shop :)  
> \- I'm of the mind that while Zack would change his ringtone to something fun like the call of a Chocobo, Sephiroth would definitely keep the default.


	16. Chapter 16

_“Cloud.”_

As he buries his face in Sephiroth’s neck, Cloud thinks that it’s probably good that his legs are wrapped around the man’s waist. If they had still been on the floor, he would have no doubt crumpled to the ground, betrayed by his knees, at the relieved tone to the General’s voice.

With Sephiroth wrapped around him as he is, his entire body feels like it’s on fire. As if every hair is standing on edge, every nerve in his body tense. A voice deep inside him yells at him, tells him that this is so wrong. That he shouldn’t be here. _Pull away! Defend yourself! Don’t let your guard down!_ He’s never shut that strange voice up faster than he does now. Sephiroth was just worried about him – he knows that now. The strange feelings are probably just because Sephiroth never hugs anyone, much less some random cadet.

He won’t deny that he likes being the one person the General will hug, even if he would never admit it out loud. Even if the events leading up to it were far less than ideal.

_“Cloud.”_

He wraps his arms tighter around Sephiroth’s neck, the man’s deep voice caressing his ear. Taking a shaky breath, Cloud apologizes for who knows what time that day. “I-I’m sorry.” He’s half-convinced that Sephiroth’s hands will brand his body from where they lay, the warmth of them unmistakable even through the layers of his uniform and the leather of the General’s gloves.

“Are you alright, Cloud?”

The warm arms around him tighten slightly as he tenses in their embrace, flashes of the previous day coming back completely unbidden. The terrifying things that had been said run wild through his head while the nauseating way Johnson had looked at him, the way he had played with himself in front of him seem to be seared painfully into Cloud’s soul. Honestly, he isn’t alright. Wasn’t sure if he ever would be. But he can’t tell Sephiroth that, can he? He’s supposed to be strong, right? A powerful urge to not show any weakness in front of the man surges through him and he hesitates for only a second before answering. “I’ll be fine, sir.” He’s rather proud of how even his voice is. It’s technically not a lie. Well, probably. Hopefully.

Sephiroth sighs. “That’s not what I asked.” The General’s voice is gentle, but that doesn’t stop Cloud from scrunching his eyes shut, fearing that he had disappointed the man. Sephiroth makes no move to set him down, though. Doesn’t appear to even consider it, strong arms still wrapped almost possessively around him. “You went through something extremely traumatic, Cloud. You don’t have to be ok right away.”

Nearly melting further into the man’s hold at his concern, his understanding, Cloud replies, “I’m better now.” Unspoken goes the _now that you’re here. Now that I know you don’t hate me._

Cloud’s not sure how long he remains encased in those arms, the rhythmic rise and fall of Sephiroth’s chest calming him in a way he doesn’t fully understand nor feels like he should entirely be ok with. After what seems like simultaneously too long and not nearly long enough, he hears the clearing of a throat from somewhere behind them, followed by the exasperated voice of Commander Rhapsodos. “Pray tell, Sephiroth. Do you plan on letting anybody else see our little bird today?”

He doesn’t entirely know what he expected Sephiroth to do (put him down maybe?), but the man curling a hand around his head, holding him in place, and making a near perfect, albeit drier, imitation of Zack – “I found him first, Gen.” – most definitely was not it. He also never would have anticipated the General’s laughter in response to Rhapsodos’s scoff, the rumbling of which vibrates throughout his body, warming him far more than the man’s hands had.

“I guess I have to put you down now, Cloud.” Sephiroth says, amusement still clear in his voice.

“Ok.” Cloud’s not disappointed. He swears he isn’t. It had to come to an end eventually.

Except Sephiroth doesn’t put him down. Arms still around him, Cloud’s just wondering whether the man changed his mind when the General chuckles softly and whispers, “I need you to unwrap your legs first.”

Letting out an undignified squeak that he will completely deny later, Cloud can feel the heat rising in his face as he carefully unhooks his legs from around Sephiroth’s waist. Far too quickly for his liking – ok, maybe he was a little disappointed – he finds himself on his feet again. Before he can move his hands, though, they are encased, the General gently unclasping them from around his neck and bringing their joined hands between them. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

“T-thank you, sir,” Cloud stutters out, half-surprised that he’s still standing. The General’s actions certainly don’t help matters. Certainly don’t do anything for the red tint to his cheeks.

Letting go of his hands slowly, the General moves to step back, but freezes suddenly, eyes narrowed. Crowding into his space again, Sephiroth cradles one of his arms, sliding up the sleeve of his uniform top to reveal a nasty-looking bruise. Slitted green meet blue and Cloud can’t help the flinch at the dark look on the man’s face, the General suddenly surrounded in fire. Why does it look like Nibelheim is burning behind the man?

“Did they touch you, Cloud?”

The man’s voice shocks him out of his reverie and when he blinks, they’re once more in Aerith’s house. No fire, no smoke, no burning water tower. He responds on auto-pilot, his voice sounding distant in his state of disorientation. “No, sir. I fell down the stairs.” Shaking away the distressed feeling he had felt at seeing his hometown burning, he mentally slaps himself. This is no time for another episode. He’ll only worry everybody more. The visions are probably just another unfortunate side effect of the shitshow that was yesterday.

Coming back to his senses, Cloud’s just in time to see the terrible look on the General’s face disappear, replaced instead with one that’s far softer in appearance. Sighing, Sephiroth says, “Good. If they had, I probably would have returned to the Tower and killed them where they stood.”

Cloud hasn’t even fully processed Sephiroth’s words – he would kill them just for touching him? – when Commander Rhapsodos pulls him into a one-armed hug. “He wouldn’t have been the only one.”

The Commander releases him just as quickly and Cloud stares, uncomprehending, up at the man. “Wouldn’t have been the only one?” Apparently, the 1sts had stopped making sense, too.

The man grimaces, fire flashing in his eyes. “We were not… happy when we heard about what happened.” Cloud opens his mouth to apologize – it was his fault for being so weak – but Rhapsodos holds a hand up to stop him. “We’re mad at the bullies, not you, little bird.”

Not him? Cloud’s half-tempted to cry again. He wasn’t used to people not blaming him for everything that went wrong. Wasn’t used to people being mad at the bullies rather than at him. But Aerith had said something similar earlier, hadn’t she? Had mentioned how volatile they had gotten. Rubbing an arm, Cloud asks hesitantly, “Aerith said you… lobbed fireballs at them?”

Rhapsodo’s wild smirk is all the answer he needs. “I would have done far worse to those cretins if the President didn’t insist on punishing them himself.” Sighing wistfully, the Commander stares at nothing for a moment, looking a little bitter at his denied vengeance, before a mischievous glint flashes through his eyes. Throwing a conspiratorial look his way, Rhapsodos leans in, one hand held to the side of his mouth, and stage whispers, “You should have seen Sephiroth, though. He was drawing Masamune before he even realized it. Probably looked like he was about to gut them on the spot, too.” The Commander shakes his head disbelievingly, straightening back up and throwing both hands out to the side. “Can you believe it, little bird?! I was the one raining fire upon their feet and they looked far more terrified of Sephiroth!”

The General doesn’t deny the claims, only stares calmly back at him when Cloud turns shocked eyes his way. Before he can put more thought in it, Rhapsodos has slung an arm over his shoulder and turns him to face Commander Hewley, who waits calmly just past the threshold, looking at a loss over whether to feel amused or apprehensive at his friend’s antics.

Gesturing at the other Commander with a flourish of his hand, Rhapsodos says, “And you know how prim and proper Angeal always is?” The man addresses Cloud, but his eyes never leave those of the other SOLDIER. “He would have no doubt been just as intimidating as the rest of us, but he was rather preoccupied restraining a foaming-at-the-mouth puppy.”

“A puppy?”

That draws Rhapsodos’s attention back to him, the man winking down at him. “Zack was the… least composed of all of us. He very sincerely wanted to kill the bullies.”

There’s a huff beside them and Zack’s petulant voice reaches his ears – “I still want to kill them.” Turning, Cloud’s just in time to see Aerith pat the teen’s forearm, a twinkle in her eyes.

“Why?” Cloud asks without realizing, voice raw with an emotion he can’t quite pinpoint – gratitude, relief, disbelief? Why does everybody think he’s worth something? It just doesn’t make sense.

Rhapsodos must misinterpret his question – his real question – answering as if it were obvious, “We do not take threats to one of our own kindly.”

Cloud choking on his breath is the only distinct noise he makes for several long, uncomprehending seconds, his jaw working itself open and closed, no sound coming out, for what feels like an eternity. Finally pulling himself together enough to ditch the fish out of water routine, he manages to splutter out, “O-one of your own?”

Chuckling softly, Rhapsodos winks at him, a hint of a smirk on the man’s face. “Whether you like it or not, little bird, you’ve been adopted.”

What…? He had been adopted by the strongest men in Midgar? That just… wasn’t logical in the slightest. Looking between the 1sts, stunned, his voice comes out as a strained whimper, not comprehending this bizarre revelation at all. “W-why?” He doesn’t even notice the tears sliding down his face, not that he has it in him to stop. “Why?”

“Cloud.” Turning at the soft voice, he stares wide-eyed as Aerith cups his face, fingers brushing away his tears. “Hey there,” she says, smiling softly and running her thumb gently under his eye one last time. “You have no idea how important you are to us. You are worth _so_ much to us. Ok?”

Sniffling, Cloud nods his head numbly, definitely not trusting his voice now. How had she understood what he was asking, what he was really asking?

“Good,” she says, her eyes crinkling happily.

Commander Hewley takes that moment to make his presence known, moving from the entrance to stand in front of him. “Is that why you ran away, Cloud?” A large hand lands on his shoulder and Cloud’s eyes move up, up, up – why did he have to be so short? – to find the man’s face. “You didn’t think you were worth anything?”

Dropping his gaze to the floor, Cloud rubs an arm self-consciously. “Yes, sir.” That wasn’t the exact answer – he knew he wasn’t worth anything – but he couldn’t voice the truth out loud. Couldn’t tell them that he didn’t think they would actually _want_ him. Couldn’t bear to show any more weakness.

Hewley hums thoughtfully, hand still warm on his shoulder. “You didn’t think we would want you anymore because of what happened?”

Eyes snapping back up to the Commander’s face, Cloud blinks owlishly at the man. How had he known? Had he been that obvious? “I…” He tries, unsuccessfully, throat closing up. Swallowing audibly, his voice is almost a whisper when he does speak. “Y-yes, sir.”

“Cloud.” The look on the man’s face is solemn as he studies him. “We don’t blame you for what happened.”

“But I couldn’t even protect myself!” Cloud nearly yells, hands balled into his uniform top. He couldn’t do anything, he was so weak. How could they not blame him? It doesn’t make sense.

Commander Hewley sighs, hand squeezing his shoulder. “We don’t blame you for that, Cloud. You were ambushed. Six against one isn’t fair odds, especially when you have no chance to prepare ahead of time.” There’s a twinkle in the man’s eyes as he nods towards Rhapsodos. “Think about it. One Genesis is a pain all by himself. Even Sephiroth would have trouble dealing with six of him.”

“Rude.” Rhapsodos sniffs haughtily at his childhood friend. The man’s attention is easily diverted, though, when Cloud fails to hold his laugh in, something of a strangled snort making it past his closed lips. The fiery Commander raises an elegant eyebrow his way and all Cloud can do is stand frozen in place like a kid who had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “You’re not going to defend me, little bird??”

“I-I… Uh…” Cloud all but stumbles over his words as he tries – and fails – to find the best way to pacify the dramatic SOLDIER. Brain forsaking him, all he can manage is a pathetic, “I-I’m sorry…”

Sighing dramatically, Rhapsodos waves his apology away. “Well, as long as it got you to laugh.” The man’s (feigned?) offense fades and he winks Cloud’s way – maybe he wasn’t really that upset. “No more crying, ok?”

“I’ll try, sir.”

“Cloud.” It’s Sephiroth’s turn to interject, the man’s face a mix of serious and some other emotion Cloud can’t quite make out. “Angeal’s right. We don’t blame you for anything. On the contrary, President Rufus told us how brave you were throughout the whole ordeal. We’re so proud of you.”

Cloud’s breath catches in his throat. Staring dumbfounded up at the General – they were proud of him, too? – he once more fails to realize that he’s crying until it’s too late. So much for his promise. Scrubbing his eyes dry, his voice is pathetically weak when he responds. “T-thank you, sir.”

“We definitely are proud of you, kid.” Crap. How had he not noticed that Commander Hewley was still there, that his hand was still on his shoulder? Was Sephiroth really that distracting? Luckily, the man doesn’t notice his surprise, continuing, “We hate that it even happened, but we’re very proud of you for keeping your wits about you.”

Keeping his wits about him? Had he really done that? It felt more like he had been reduced to a terrified mess. He certainly couldn’t keep the shaking at bay. But who was he to question a 1st Class SOLDIER, or the President for that matter? “Thank you, sir.”

“However.” Cloud cringes, feeling a lecture coming on. “From now on, you need to tell one of us if something is wrong. Even if you feel the need to run, you need to tell somebody where you’re going. No more running away without notifying anybody. Alright?”

Cloud gulps. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Hewley nods, satisfied. “And, if you don’t feel comfortable talking to one of us, then you need to contact Ms. Gainsborough. No more leaving us in the dark as to your whereabouts. We’ve been very worried about you.”

“Uh… yes, sir,” he says, shuffling a foot dejectedly. “Sorry, sir.”

The hand on his shoulder moves to his head and Cloud watches, surprised, as the man ruffles his hair. Hewley gives him a fond look and Cloud realizes that he’s never noticed how alike the man and his former student are. Well, aside from Zack’s never-ending exuberance, of course. He doesn’t think anybody could match Zack in that. The teen acted like a puppy whose entire diet consisted of sugar soaked in coffee. “Thank you, Cloud.”

Before he can do more than open his mouth in response – not that he knows what to say – another voice cuts through the momentary silence. “Cloud.” He feels like he might get whiplash as he snaps his eyes back to Sephiroth. He’s not used to so many people competing for his attention. And it feels almost ridiculously unreal that it’s four 1st Class SOLDIERs doing so. “I’ll excuse you from duty for the rest of today and tomorrow, but I would like to continue your training the day after.”

To be honest, there’s a part of him that never wants to go back, never wants to set foot in the Shinra Building ever again. But that’s the same cowardly part of him that had him running in the first place. That had him hurting so many people he cared about, people who thought he was actually worth something. On the other hand, the logical part of him – thankfully back in the driver’s seat – seems to be in cohorts with that little voice from earlier, telling him the General would just find him weak if he didn’t return to training straight away. “It’s ok, sir. I-I’m fine. I don’t need any time off.” The events of yesterday would still be painfully fresh – _are_ still painfully fresh – but he would manage… somehow.

Sephiroth sighs at him. “No, Cloud.” A hand lands on his shoulder and the entire area lights up, tingling down to the very bone. Well, that was certainly a noticeable difference to when Commander Hewley had touched him. He can’t decide whether the feeling is comfortable or not, but it’s undoubtedly due to Sephiroth being… well, Sephiroth. His body had always reacted differently to the man – he still couldn’t stop the occasional shiver down his spine at the purring lilt to the man’s voice. “I appreciate your courage, but I don’t want you pushing yourself. I know the events of yesterday still trouble you. I’m hoping a couple days with help dull the pain.”

Cloud’s afraid that the pure, unadulterated awe is entirely visible on his face, but he just can’t help it. The General has always been so nice, so understanding. He still has trouble remembering that this is the same hero whose stoic face is probably still plastered all over the walls of his bedroom back in Nibelheim. Not that it really matters, though – he would never be inviting Sephiroth back to his hometown (the little voice is quite insistent that he never actually does), much less showing him his childhood bedroom. “O-ok, sir.”

Sephiroth smiles down at him – which certainly doesn’t help his awestruck face – and the hand drops from his shoulder. The tingling fades, but the echoes of it still remain, so much so that he feels that he’ll still be able to tell exactly where each finger lay hours from now. “Good. I would like to give you more time off, but that might have the exact opposite effect than desired. You might be more inclined to never return to your life as a cadet.”

“Just rip off the bandage?”

Cloud is rewarded with a soft chuckle and he just doesn’t understand how one man can be so perfect. “Exactly. Now, I realize returning to the cadet dorms might be too much right now. Would you mind bunking with Zack for the night? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind the company.”

“Nonsense!”

Cloud’s pleased to find that he isn’t the only one surprised by the sudden voice, Sephiroth turning to Mrs. Gainsborough with a questioning look on his face. “Ma’am?” Cloud really needs to work on his situational awareness – he had completely forgotten that she was there, that anybody else was there. He really hopes that he wasn’t fanboying too hard. Crying in front of everybody was embarrassing enough.

Mrs. Gainsborough levels the General with an unimpressed look, still watching them from her seat at the table, arms crossed comfortably on the tabletop. “No way are you making that boy return to Shinra today.” Sephiroth opens his mouth to protest, but she just tuts at him, sending a small fond smile Cloud’s way. “He’ll spend the night here. Zack is welcome to stay, too.”

Aerith makes a soft sound of surprise before sending a beaming smile her mom’s way. “Oh! Great plan!” Turning back to Cloud, she pulls his hands into hers, smile still on her face. “We’ll have so much fun! We can play games and watch TV. And your already know how good mom’s cooking is!”

Sephiroth shakes his head, long silver hair barely swaying with the motion. “I cannot impose on you or Ms. Gainsborough any more than I already have.”

“Aerith.” At the confusion on Sephiroth’s face, she elaborates. “My name is Aerith.”

A look that can only be classified as deep regret plasters itself on the General’s face. “But, I can’t – ”

Aerith scoffs at him, rolling her eyes. “Oh, don’t you start with that guilty face. _That_ wasn’t your fault and you know it. I don’t blame you at all.” Cloud has absolutely no idea what’s going on, no idea what they’re referring to, but Aerith seems to be in charge now.

“I…”

Aerith sighs at Sephiroth’s continued reluctance. “Repeat after me, Sephiroth. Aer-ith.”

“…Aerith.”

The radiant smile is back as Sephiroth finally says her name. “See? That wasn’t so hard.”

Cloud stares stunned at the scene in front of him. He would have never considered it possible to boss around the strongest man in Midgar as if he were some naughty toddler caught misbehaving. And definitely not by some teenage girl. But if there was one thing that Cloud had learned, it was that Aerith was seriously amazing. And a force to reckon with all by herself.

As Sephiroth turns his attention back to Cloud, there’s an amazed look on his face, though the hints of regret still remain. “Well, I suppose you heard them, Cloud. Are you comfortable staying her for the night?”

Cloud nods his head in response – he probably feels the safest here, after the church of course. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. I will see you in a couple days then.” Cloud feels like Sephiroth’s gaze lingers on him longer than absolutely necessary – but that might just be the fanboy in him speaking again – before turning back to Aerith and her mother. Offering them a shallow bow, he says, “Thank you for looking out for him.”

“I would never leave a child to fend for themselves,” Mrs. Gainsborough says, winking at Cloud. “Especially not one as well-mannered as he is.”

“I’m glad.” The General looks to Cloud again as if about to say something, but shakes his head and offers a small nod instead. “Cloud.”

The strangest mix of relief and loss washes through Cloud as Sephiroth crosses over the threshold and out of the house, his body wanting simultaneously to never see the man again and to be encased in those strong, warm arms once more. He really hopes the couple days off are enough to fix these weird sensations – he has a hard enough time acting like SOLDIER material in front of the man already.

“We’ll get going, too,” Commander Hewley says, giving his former student a stern look. “Zack, make sure you behave for them.” Ignoring Zack’s protest of “But I always behave!”, Hewley turns his attention to Cloud instead. He’s just preparing for the man to tell him to behave, too, but the Commander smiles at him, large hand landing on his shoulder again. “I’m glad you’re safe, Cloud.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Nodding, Hewley turns to Aerith. “Thank you again for healing Genesis and myself.”

“It was my pleasure!” Aerith is all smiles as she looks up at the man. How was she able to talk to them so easily? Maybe Cloud should ask her for some pointers… As if he could work past the embarrassment to actually ask, though.

“Also…” Hewley looks a little unsure of himself, which is definitely unusual for Cloud to see. At least from the little that he knew of the man. “Zack tells me that you grow everything in that garden of yours.” At Aerith’s bright nod, he continues, “I was hoping to ask for some tips sometime. Your garden is very impressive.”

Aerith’s eyes shine as she nods enthusiastically. “Absolutely! I’m always happy to help!”

Cloud’s stunned look still hasn’t left his face as Hewley and Rhapsodos follow after their friend – “No more flying away without telling anybody, little bird.” Turning to regard Aerith again, he finally gets the cogs in his head turning enough to ask, “You healed them?” Not as eloquent as far as questions go, but at least it’s intelligible.

“About a year ago, the two of them were suffering from a sickness that couldn’t be healed by conventional methods.” Shrugging as if to downplay her role in it, Aerith continues, “I’m good with magic and was able to heal them that way.”

If he wasn’t already completely impressed with her before, he certainly is now. She could cure the uncurable and still be entirely modest about it? She really is an angel.

The surprised look on her face and the delighted gasp she makes is enough for Cloud to realize that he had said that last part out loud. Apparently, he isn’t done embarrassing himself just yet. Ears burning, all he can do is shrug when Aerith asks excited, “You think I’m an angel?”

* * *

“By the Goddess!” Sephiroth tenses at the obvious amusement in the man’s tone. Whatever it is that has piqued Genesis’s interest, he gets the feeling he’s not going to enjoy it. Flashing a devious smirk his way, Genesis says, “I never thought that I would see the day when General ‘Emotionally-Stunted’ Sephiroth fell victim to a crush.”

Sephiroth sighs. Here we go. “What do you mean, Genesis?” He knows Angeal had said something similar, though far more tactfully, but if Genesis wants information, he’s going to have to work for it. Probably for the best not to mention that Angeal already figured it out – Genesis was the jealous type.

“That was quite the embrace you and Cloud shared.” His friend waggles his eyebrows his way, mischievous glint not once leaving his eyes. “Though, I am curious. If I hadn’t said anything, would you have ever let go?”

“Genesis.”

His warning not enough, Genesis steamrolls right over him. “He is cute, I’ll give you that. But just remember that he is only 14.”

Sephiroth groans – not this again. “I’m not attracted to a 14-year-old, Genesis.” The man doesn’t look like he believes him, raising a single eyebrow his way. Angeal is no help either, snorting at his admission, but neither move to contradict him. “When I see Cloud… I remember how he was as an adult. No matter how I tormented him, no matter how much stronger I was physically, he always found it in himself to defeat me. Even when the odds were stacked against him, even when Jenova was at her strongest and I was practically a god, he never gave up.”

Smirk disappearing, Genesis regards him in a new light. “You’re attracted to what you remember of him as an adult. Your equal and all that.”

“I suppose you could put it that way.”

“Well, you don’t have anything to worry about.” At Sephiroth’s questioning look, Genesis elaborates, “I’m pretty sure Cloud is just as fond of you as you are of him.”

Sephiroth resists the urge to rub his forehead – was the other man not satisfied yet? “What are you talking about, Genesis?”

Pausing for effect, the fiery Commander looks extremely pleased to have a leg over him. “I’ve seen the way Cloud reacts to your voice.”

“That’s probably just him subconsciously remembering how much of a nightmare I was. How much he hated and feared me.” He’s starting to wish that he had returned to the Tower by himself. That would have been infinitely better than Relationships 101 with the local _Loveless_ expert.

Genesis scoffs, looking entirely unimpressed with his denial, as if he was being a particularly difficult child. “Sephiroth. You practically purr his name.”

“What do you mean?”

That smirk is back, the man entirely too amused for Sephiroth’s liking. “Oh, darling. You are absolutely _adorable_.” Sephiroth twitches when Genesis then proceeds to imitate his so-called purring – _“Cloud.”_ Angeal doesn’t make matters better, deciding instead to chuckle at their friend’s impersonation.

Before he can do more than groan in protest, Angeal chooses that moment to ask a question of his own, eyes trained straight ahead, not looking at either of them. “So, you’re not going to pursue Cloud yourself, Genesis?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m terribly fond of the boy. But I only really said I would marry him to rile Sephiroth up. He certainly was upset when I insisted on training the boy in magic.” Genesis gives Angeal’s back a searching look, but doesn’t comment on their friend’s refusal to turn around.

“I see.”

* * *

“So, let me get this straight. Cloud was in the church at the same time as you and Biggs, but managed to make it out through the attic without either of you noticing?” Zack sounds far too entertained as his attention flickers back and forth between Cloud, Aerith, and the cards in his hand. Letting out a little snort at Aerith’s “yup!”, he continues his line of questioning. “And then he led you on a merry chase throughout the entire Sector 5 slums and into the outskirts of Sector 6?”

“And then hid in the playground,” Aerith reminds him, sounding rather tickled herself.

Zack throws back his head and laughs. “Hid in the playground! Good one, Spike!” Wiping tears from his eyes, the teen winks at him. “Told you you were amazing, bud.”

Cloud huffs, readjusting the too-large shirt he had borrowed from Mrs. Gainsborough. “I didn’t do it on purpose.” It had been completely instinctual with how frightened he was. Though, he supposes in hindsight, he can see the humor in it. He’s just glad to be here now, to know that Aerith and Zack are happy to have him around, that they _want_ him around.

Smiling his way, Zack uses his free hand to ruffle Cloud’s hair – Gaia, he hadn’t realized how much he had missed that. “I know. I’m just glad that you’re safe and here with us,” Zack says as he finally decides on a card to discard – a Red 7.

“Same here.” Cloud smiles back, both from the teen’s words and from the fact that Zack had set him up perfectly. Discarding a Yellow 7, he says, “Uno.”

Zack squawks and turns a dumbstruck look his way. “What…? How…?”

Giggling at her boyfriend, Aerith sets down her own Yellow 2. “That’s what you get for not paying attention.”

Zack gasps, feigning offense. “I always pay attention.” Ignoring Aerith’s answering “Sure you do”, the teen is infinitely faster discarding a card this time around – a Blue 2. “Ha! How d’ya like that, Spike?”

“Well…” Cloud rubs the back of his neck as he hesitantly puts down his last card – a Wild Draw 4.

Zack just sits there, entirely uncomprehending, as Aerith cheers for him. “Wow! You win again, Cloud!” Throwing both hands out in what he feels can only be her bid for a high five, Cloud slowly brings his own up, hoping that he hadn’t read things wrong. If at all possible, Aerith’s smile widens as she brings their hands together. Ok, why does he have the sudden urge to become a crane operator? What the hell is wrong with him?

“But… Why…?” Zack’s face is priceless as he tries to process Cloud’s victory. “Why didn’t you use that before?” The teen says, gesturing towards the Draw 4.

“Well… I didn’t want to make Aerith draw any more cards and you’re already terrible at this game.”

Zack gasps in pretend outrage. “Oh! I am, am I?” There’s a playful glint in the teen’s eyes as he bounces out of his seat and prowls towards Cloud.

“Alright, kids! Time for bed!” Mrs. Gainsborough interrupts, stopping Zack dead in his tracks, a stack of clean clothes in her hands. “Here you go, Zack.” The teen accepts half the pile with a bright smile and a “Thanks, ma’am!”, the clothes he borrowed not moving in the slightest – Cloud swears he’s not bitter that they fit him better. Turning to him, the woman hands over his now clean clothes. “Cloud.”

Tugging the sagging shirt back over _both_ shoulders – he wasn’t that small, was he? – he offers the woman his own smile, though his is probably far more awkward. “Thanks for everything, Mrs. Gainsborough.” He still couldn’t believe that she had done so much for him – feeding him, clothing him, housing him, letting him bathe – how could he ever repay her? He had asked, but she had just scoffed at him and told him to ‘stop being ridiculous’, whatever that meant.

“I’m glad to help, young man!”

The squeal of delight and rushed “You’re actually wearing them??” has Cloud realizing far too late – and with no small amount of embarrassment – that the boxers he had been wearing are fully visible on top of his pile of now clean clothes. The Chocobo-print boxers, that is. Shrugging, he mumbles, “You bought them for me.”

Eyes twinkling far brighter than he’s ever seen them, Aerith looks like she’s about to say something else, but Mrs. Gainsborough comes to his rescue. “Aerith, stop embarrassing the poor boy.” Returning her attention to him, she continues, “Now, off to bed, you three. Cloud, you and Zack can share the guest room.”

He’s about to thank her again – he feels safe around Zack and would honestly prefer not to be alone tonight – when Aerith chimes in. “Actually, mom… I was hoping that we could have a big slumber party down here.”

The woman raises an eyebrow at her daughter, obviously not impressed with her request. “Aerith – ”

“Please, mom.” Aerith clasps her hands in front of her to help with her plea. “I don’t want to leave Cloud tonight.”

Mrs. Gainsborough stares at her daughter for several long moments before finally coming to a decision. Sighing, she concedes. “Fine. Just this once. But you all better sleep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I figured the clothes Cloud and Zack borrowed were old things of Elmyra's husband that she just always kept.  
> \- For those who've never played the Remake, there's a part where Cloud has to operate this crane in the shape of a giant arm (Aerith asks if he moonlights as a crane operator). Afterwards, Aerith manages to get him to give her a high-five, so that's where the high-five/crane operator comment come from.  
> \- Fun fact: I've apparently never played Uno the "correct" way before. Apparently, the first person in a round to discard all their cards scores points for the cards in everybody else's hands and the first to 500 points wins. I've always played it as the first person out wins. Then if there were a bunch of people playing, whoever went out next would get second place. So, I tried to leave that section vague enough that Cloud, Aerith, and Zack could be playing the game either way.


	17. Chapter 17

_Tap. Tap._

Weightless.

As Cloud comes to slowly, that’s all he can focus on. The feeling of weightlessness. Or at least that’s the only word he can think of to describe this strange floating sensation. Had he risen to Butch’s baiting again? Insisted that he really could swim all the way to Corel? Not because he actually thought he could, but to show Butch up, to impress Tifa? Had he waded out into the river when the adults weren’t looking? Well… when his mom wasn’t looking – the other adults couldn’t care less what happened to him. Only problem is he doesn’t actually know how to swim. That should bother him. Probably.

His mom had told him not to listen to the other kid. _Begged_ him not to. Said Butch was nothing more than a bully. Cloud wasn’t a coward, though. Well, that’s what he always told Butch and his friends anyway. He never had learned how to back down when the other kids mocked him in front of Tifa.

So, this is it. He’s drowning.

Except it doesn’t feel like he’s drowning - he certainly had had a near-intimate experience with that. Sure, he can’t breathe, but his lungs aren’t on fire. He’s not choking on water. Panic’s not ripping through him, leaving him a pathetic, thrashing mess, as Butch laughs from the shoreline. Instead, he’s eerily calm.

_Tap. Tap._

_“Do you think it’s dead?”_

Maybe he wasn’t drowning. Maybe he was already dead. Gone past the point of no return. That would explain why he couldn’t feel his body any more. Couldn’t lift a leg, twitch a finger, move a muscle. Couldn’t open his eyes to figure out where on Gaia he actually was. Perhaps he was already in the Lifestream. He just never imagined that it would smell so much like mint and sterilizer.

He should have told his mother he loved her. How much she meant to him. And apologized for being such a burden. Apologized for making her cry. He knows she’ll miss him. Part of him hopes Tifa will, too. But they’re better off without him. He only ever caused them trouble. He couldn’t stop getting into fights for his mom. And he certainly couldn’t save Tifa from that fall.

So, he’s dead. It should bother him more than it does. Probably. He doesn’t actually want to be dead, but maybe it’ll be easier. If he always felt this mindless, maybe death wouldn’t be so bad. He wouldn’t have to worry about his bullies anymore, at least.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

The sharper, more insistent tapping has his blood turning to ice. He has no idea why, though. He feels like the flashes of blinding white light, restraints jury-rigged to fit small wrists, and lab coats should mean something to him. They don’t. But that doesn’t stop the fear from rising in his chest. So much for being mindless.

_“Wake up, Subject C.”_

The urge to throw up washes over him as fear turns to all-consuming dread. He _knows_ that voice. Can almost hear the ridicule as his insides burn white-hot, the smell of mint overwhelmingly noxious – _“Why did you go after my greatest creation if you can’t even handle a little mako?”_. Can almost make out the cackling as he writhes against restraints, no relief from the pain tearing through his body.

He knows the voice. But, at the same time, he doesn’t. Feels like he should remember the man – the _demon_ something inside him says – but… he doesn’t. His mind can almost conjure up stringy black hair and round, tinted glasses, but the face remains a mystery to him, hidden behind a veil of haze and fog.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

_“Open your eyes, Subject C.”_

Even in his state of forgetfulness, he’s certain that he wants nothing to do with the creep. He tries to squeeze his eyes shut tighter in an act of defiance. Maybe if he doesn’t listen, if he doesn’t discover what’s on the other side of his eyelids, he won’t have to find out whether his visions were just that or if they were his new living nightmare. Won’t discover if the real pain measures up to the imagined.

Except he doesn’t get the chance to be defiant, his mind and body no longer acting in tandem. As if he were a dog trained to obey its master’s every whim, his eyes sluggishly peel themselves open. Entirely _against_ his will. The green, luminescent liquid just on the other side of his closed-eyed void should bother him more than it does. And the glass tank he finds himself floating in should feel less familiar than it does. Should be more disconcerting than it is.

So, he isn’t dead after all. And he isn’t drowning – the bubbling, green-white liquid keeping him in an oxygen-less stasis. But where was he? How had he gotten there?

Sephiroth!

A nauseating mix of hatred, grief, and terror crash into him with the force of a Grand Horn at the thought of the man. Sephiroth had…! He had… What had he done again? The ache in his chest turns to absolute agony, something cold and entirely metal lodged firmly in his abdomen as he tries to remember, tries to lift the fog from his mind. He has to remember. He has to, right? He promised himself he wouldn’t forget, but…

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

_“Look at me, Subject C.”_

His head feels leaden as his body once more struggles to obey. Inch by agonizing inch his head lifts, eyes fighting the urge to slip shut again. He’s just able to make out a bony finger poised to rap against glass when he feels the bounce as his head lolls forward, body somehow still upright.

_“Deteriorating response time. Complete lack of focus. Inability to follow even the simplest of orders.”_ There’s a disgruntled sigh as Cloud’s vision starts to turn black around the edges. _“Acute mako poisoning. It would seem that Subject C is a failure, too.”_ Failure? He could have told him that… He was… always… a failure…

_Slap._

Fuzzy hands enter his blackening vision, the monster in a lab coat seemingly pressed up against the glass. But the loud noise and closer proximity aren’t enough to pull him from the fog, his eyes unable to do more than blink lazily in response. _“What a shame! You would have made the perfect plaything for my son!”_ The mocking tone turns to jeering laughter as Cloud’s eyes slip shut of their own accord. _“Imagine the irony! His would-be murderer turned obedient pet!”_

As his consciousness fades and fuzzy static overtakes his mind, a new yet familiar voice reverberates throughout his entire being. A voice that he knows should raise his hackles, but instead just makes him want to drop to his knees in supplication. To beg the owner – his owner? – for forgiveness.

_Be a good little puppet for me, Cloud._

.

.

.

When the static lifts and he manages to pry open his eyelids again, he’s once more met with green. But not the glowing, green-white of the tank. Instead, it’s a dark, deep green. A disconnected green interspersed with brown and blue. A forest. He’s in a forest. Just how long had he been out for?

_“And get this, Spike!”_ Cloud’s gasp remains bottled up within his chest, his head not turning the way he wants it to, not turning at all. That was Zack’s voice! He’s here, too? Cloud’s body might still be frustratingly immobile, but the teen’s presence would explain the deep sense of calm and rightness he feels. _“I thought I was sooo badass making those monsters flee without any of my equipment, like real 1st Class material, only to realize that the buggers had run off with my clothes!”_

Cloud wants to laugh with his friend, he really does. But while he feels the desire bubble up within the pit of his stomach, his mouth remains firmly and irritatingly closed. He really hopes the other teen knows he’s listening, that he’s paying attention. Hopes that the other isn’t disappointed with his lack of response.

If Zack is disappointed, he doesn’t let on, continuing his story with the same effortless, unaffected humor. _“And let me tell you, returning to the Tower in just my boxers – not as awkward as I thought it would be… But then I ran into Angeal.”_ Cloud knows that a gasp would be appropriate here, recognizes the pause in the other’s story for what it is. He honestly does try to. But his body still hasn’t relinquished its newfound autonomy. He doesn’t know why, though. It certainly isn’t doing a better job than he would – and he wasn’t that good at controlling himself in the first place. _“Let’s just say he was **not** impressed with me that day. Got one of his famous lectures. Something about SOLDIER honor and having to set a good example.”_

Zack ends his story with a wistful sigh and then the entirely one-sided conversation – not from lack of trying on Cloud’s part – lapses into a silence that is contradictorily equal parts awkward and comfortable. The static has just started to crawl up again when a gloved hand enters his vision. As the hand ruffles his hair, Zack finally comes within view – and, oh, how Cloud had missed his face. _“Miss you, buddy. Wish you were awake.”_

Awake? What is Zack talking about? He is awake! He just can’t move, that’s all… Before he can try to convince the teen – the man? – that he really is awake (and listening), before he can do more than blink in protest – he really needs a better form of communication – his eyelids close, the blackness setting in anew.

.

.

.

Static clearing once more, Cloud lets out a frustrated groan when he realizes he still can’t move. Wait. He had groaned… That’s new. Barely breathing with the hope coursing through him, he almost cries when he discovers that he can wiggle his toes and fingers, too. _Finally._ Now, if only he could figure out why the rest of him feels so heavy.

Blinking his eyes open – thankfully with zero difficulty this time – he freezes, heat rushing to his face, when he realizes the position that he’s in. With the help of the morning light peeking in through the windows, he can tell that he’s pressed to a muscular chest – Zack’s muscular chest. Squeaking, he tries to pull away, but the arms around him tighten in protest. Well, no wonder he couldn’t move.

There’s a soft sigh from behind him, and that’s when he realizes there’s a third arm around him. Was that Aerith? Just what on Gaia had happened? Had he been cocooned between them the entire night? Before he can rack his brain for answers or, more importantly, determine the least embarrassing way out of this situation, Zack’s eyes flutter open, smile groggy. “Heya, Spike.”

If the sweet “Morning, Cloud” is anything to go by, then Aerith is awake, too. Neither teen moves to let him go, though, and before he can stop himself, he grouches out through his embarrassment, “If anybody makes a comment about a Chocobo sandwich, I’m leaving.”

Aerith giggles as she removes her arm, patting his side twice before letting go fully. Zack, on the other hand, dissolves into a fit of laughter, arms still wrapped around him. When the teen finally composes himself, he gives Cloud one last squeeze before letting go, eyes shining with mirth. “Sorry, Cloudy. Guess I’m clingy in my sleep.” Sitting up, Zack rubs the sleep from his eyes as he asks, “Have a good dream, buddy?”

Humming in thought, Cloud sits up and eyes the blankets and pillows they’d grabbed to create their makeshift bedding as he considers his answer. “Not really. It was kinda weird, actually. I couldn’t move at all.”

Zack chuckles awkwardly, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry about that, Spike. I think that was my fault for clinging to you like an octopus.”

“That wasn’t the really weird part, though.” Cloud shakes his head. “The _really_ weird part was that I was floating in this glowing, green liquid.” He writes off the choked look on the teen’s face as surprise as he continues his tale. “Then there was this creepy guy in a lab coat who was disappointed that he couldn’t turn me into a plaything for his son. Something about mako poisoning, I think…” Cloud drops his gaze to his lap as Zack’s look turns horrified. Maybe he shouldn’t have told him after all. He doesn’t dare look to Aerith. “Told you it was weird…” He finishes lamely, voice soft.

Zack’s broken “Spikey…” goes unanswered as a hand lands on Cloud’s shoulder, shocking him out of his self-consciousness. Turning to Aerith, he finds a sad smile on her face. “That sounds like a really scary dream.”

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Cloud nods. “It was. I couldn’t make out the man’s face, but I just knew that I should be afraid of him. And…” Cloud chokes, remembering the pain. “I j-just… I just knew that he had hurt me. I felt like there had been so much pain…” Taking a deep breath to calm his racing nerves, he returns his attention to Zack and offers the still miserable-looking teen a small smile. “It wasn’t all that bad, though. I dreamt about you, too, Zack.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Yeah. We were in a forest somewhere. I still couldn’t move, but I just knew I was safe cause you were there.” Cloud smiles at the memory. Even in his dreams, Zack was still looking out for him. “It was strange, though. You looked a lot older in my dream and you had a scar on your cheek,” he says, tapping his own in emphasis. “I think you were carrying Commander Hewley’s sword, too. Oh! And you were telling me the most ridiculous story.”

Zack swallows audibly – his eyes are still shining, but there’s a tenderness to them now, too. “I-I was, buddy?”

“Yeah, you were. And I really wanted to laugh with you, too. Or do something – _anything_ – to let you know that I was actually listening, but I couldn’t. Couldn’t move anything. It was seriously frustrating.” Cloud rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. He’s not sure Zack will appreciate what his mind had conjured up, but he’s in too deep now. At least that part of the dream was better than the beginning. “But anyway, you… Well, the dream-you mentioned something about having to return to the Tower in just his boxers cause monsters had stolen his clothes. Said that it wasn’t as awkward as he thought it would be, but then he ran into Commander Hewley.”

There’s a poorly disguised snort from behind him, but his attention is much too focused on Zack. Zack who is staring back at him, eyes wide and awe etched all across his face. The teen lets out a choked laugh and when he speaks, his voice is higher-pitched than Cloud is used to. “That definitely sounds like me! You know me so well, bud!” Zack sniffs, rubbing his eyes for good measure, and then between one breath and another has pulled Cloud into a tight hug, arms wrapped protectively around him. “I’m so glad you’re awake, buddy.”

“Huh?” Dream-Zack had mentioned something similar, hadn’t he? Something about wishing he was awake, right?

“I’m glad you’re not mako-poisoned anymore… Or with that creep in a lab coat.” Zack clings to him tighter, one hand clutching his shoulder, face pressed to his chest.

“Oh? Yeah, me too. But it was just a dream, Zack,” he mumbles into the teen’s hair, hand coming up to pat his friend’s back as he kneels over him awkwardly – he didn’t think his dream would affect the other so much. “Are you ok, dude? You’re acting kinda weird.”

Zacks nods a little more forcefully than necessary, his hair tickling Cloud’s face. “Of course I’m ok. That’s just a really scary dream you had.” Leaning back, there’s a reverent smile on Zack’s face as he stares up at Cloud. “Don’t worry, Spike. I will _always_ protect you.” A hand comes up to cup Cloud’s shocked face, thumb caressing his cheek.

“Z-Zack?” Heart beating out of his chest, when Cloud finally notices the compromising position the two are in, his face turns a remarkable shade of beet red. Once more, he finds himself basically straddling the teen, legs framing one of Zack’s own, the other teen’s arm still wrapped snuggly around his waist, Cloud’s borrowed shirt hanging loose off of one shoulder.

“Cloud…” Zack says, breathless, gaze flickering to Cloud’s lips. When his eyes return to Cloud’s own, there’s something of a silent question hidden on his face. Cloud’s far too stunned to be of any help, but Zack still must find what he’s looking for, the hand on Cloud’s cheek curving around to the back of his head, gentle pressure guiding him down.

Cloud knows what’s about to happen, his mom had watched enough rom-coms for him to be sure of it, but he just never imagined it would happen to him. And he certainly never planned on being the ‘girl’ in this situation. Wait. Girl… They shouldn’t be doing this. “Aerith…”

Zack shoots back immediately, falling away from Cloud as if burned. Half-sprawled on the floor, he turns wide eyes to his girlfriend, who had been curiously silent throughout the whole thing. “Aerith? I…”

“Oh, please don’t stop on my account.” The look on Aerith’s face can’t be classified as anything less than entertained as she sits crossed-legged on the blankets watching them, head propped in her hands, elbows cushioned on the fabric of her pajama pants. “I’m enjoying the show.”

Cloud’s sure he’s going to cry – or throw up – at the realization of what they had almost done. What _he_ had almost done. Aerith doesn’t look upset at all, in fact she looks rather tickled, but how could she forgive him for nearly pawing at her boyfriend? Aerith and Zack were two of the best friends – _only_ friends – he had ever had and he had just completely ruined everything. “A-Aerith…”

Aerith sighs. “None of that, ok?” Not waiting for a response, she crawls over, plopping down in front of him and cradling his hands in hers once more. “I’m not mad. I already told Zack that I’m interested in you joining us.”

Blinking dumbly as the words process, when his mind finally catches up, Cloud’s mouth drops open in surprise. “J-Join you?”

“As our boyfriend, silly.” There’s no deceit on her face and when Cloud turns to Zack, all he finds there is the hint of a dopey smile. They were serious – but how? He hadn’t known them that long. Was the way to a girl’s heart just by wearing the Chocobo-print boxers that she bought him? “I was planning to wait a little longer before asking, but nobody’s accused Zack of being patient.”

“Hey!” Zack protests, but Aerith only sticks her tongue out at him in response.

Twinkling green eyes turning back to him, Aerith smiles at him. “You don’t need to respond right now, but think about it, ok? We’d be happy to have you.”

This is everything he should want, right? Two of the most amazing people he knows being interested in him. He almost says yes – he really does – but he can’t help the doubt. Can’t help the pair of eyes flashing through his mind. The pair of green eyes that definitely don’t belong to Aerith. “I-I… can’t.”

“Oh? Is there somebody else you like?” The smile hasn’t left her face – thankfully, she doesn’t seem that bothered by Cloud’s rejection.

Cloud takes a shaky breath, blushing at the thought of warm hands he can almost feel still holding him. “I… I think so? I can’t stop thinking about them at least…”

“Ooh! Who? Tell me!” Aerith looks entirely too interested now, absolute mirth shining in her eyes.

Zack takes the moment to scoot up, joining their huddle, a smirk starting to grow on his face. “Oh? Have another girl in mind? Maybe somebody with black hair?”

Black hair? That sounded like Tifa. A week ago, he would have said yes. Heck, a couple days ago, he would have said yes. But now… now he’s not so sure. Now he can’t get the sight of slitted green out of his head. Can’t stop the words _I’m glad you’re safe_ from bouncing unimpeded throughout his foolish, _foolish_ brain. He was finally being trained by his idol, and now he wants to ruin things by having feelings for the man? Unrequited feelings at that, no doubt. “Uhh… silver hair, actually.”

Aerith practically squeals in her excitement, clapping her hands together delighted. “I knew it!”

“Wait. Silver hair? I don’t think I’ve met a girl with silver hair before.” Zack gawks at the two of them, face the textbook definition of confusion. Cloud ignores him, though, his surprise at Aerith’s perception so great that he doesn’t have it in him to worry about anything else. How had Aerith known? Was he really that obvious? Zack, frustrated with the lack of response, tries a different approach – in Cloud’s defense, he was far too stunned for this. “Who do you know that has silver hair, buddy?”

Embarrassed, Cloud drops his head into his hands. This was the worst. He would much rather go back to talking about that terrifying dream. Heck, he would even go for being _in_ the dream again. How does he tell his best friend that he has the hots for their superior? Better yet, how does he extract himself from this situation without saying anything else? Without saying anything more incriminating than he already has?

Unfortunately, he doesn’t get the chance to painlessly extricate himself from this conversation, Aerith choosing that time to giggle at her boyfriend. “It’s a good thing you’re cute, Zack.” Glancing down at his arms for a second, when she returns her gaze, she winks at him. “And strong.” Zack looks like he’s torn between being flattered and mildly offended when Aerith bulldozes right over the both of them. “It’s not a girl that Cloud has a crush on.”

“Not a girl…?” Zack’s face scrunches up, puzzled, as he mulls over Aerith’s words. Far sooner than Cloud is ready for, realization dawns on the teen’s face and Zack turns a troubled look his way. “No. Absolutely not.”

Not entirely successful at keeping the pout off his face, Cloud scoffs at the teen. He already knew he was being stupid, he couldn’t help it, but he had thought – _hoped_ – that Zack would be more accepting, more understanding. Gaia, the other teen was the one who had almost kissed _him_. “I know I’m not good enough for him, Zack. You don’t have to remind me.” Cloud crosses his arms over himself protectively as he turns his gaze downward to the blankets, trying to ignore the prickling in his eyes.

“Spikey? What…?” Zack is suddenly in his personal space again, hands once more on his face, lifting his eyes up. “I… No… Sephiroth isn’t good enough for _you_. Not nearly by half. You deserve _soooo_ much better, buddy.”

He deserves better? Than Sephiroth? Cloud very nearly rolls his eyes at the ridiculous thought. “What are you talking about Zack?? Sephiroth is the freaking General of Shinra. How is he not good enough for me, a simple cadet?”

Something of a pained grimace passes over Zack’s face, a hint of grief in his wide, sad eyes. “What? No… Cloud, you don’t understand…” Zack growls – which still doesn’t help the ‘puppy’ thing – and tugs irritated at his hair. Dropping his hands into his lap with a light _thunk_ , he turns an entirely heartbroken look to Cloud. “You are sooo much more than a simple cadet, Cloudy.”

Taking pity on her boyfriend, Aerith lays a comforting hand on his shoulder and reassures softly, “That’s not Sephiroth’s fault and you know it.” Zack nods stiffly, but doesn’t look too convinced.

Wait. Were they talking about what had happened the other day? “The thing with Johnson? Of course that isn’t Sephiroth’s fault, Zack. You know he was just as upset as everybody else.” The man was even prepared to kill the cadets for touching him – which was another thing that Cloud couldn’t get out of his head.

“No… That’s not… I…” Zack groans and shakes his head. Sighing miserably, he turns worried eyes to Cloud. Voice weak, his next protest sounds like his last resort. “You’re too young.”

Cloud does roll his eyes at that. He’s 14 – he knows he’s too young. “Gaia, Zack. I’m not about to throw myself at him.” He’s not that dumb.

Whining, Zack appears to be at a loss for words as he looks back and forth between them desperately. Finally, he sighs, a sign that he had given in. “I have to talk to him.”

Cloud tries to protest, he really does, but Aerith beats him to it, shaking her head amazed, as if not quite believing what she was hearing. “Are you really going to give the strongest man in the world The Talk?”

“…If I have to.”

* * *

“How is Cloud?”

Sephiroth raises an eyebrow at Rufus. He knows that the President was bothered by what happened, but Rufus didn’t really summon him for just this, did he? “He’s fine. He’s with Aerith and Zack at the moment.” When all Rufus does it nod, Sephiroth can’t help the twitch. Looks like they’re doing this the hard way. “With all due respect, Mr. President, you didn’t call me all the way up here just to ask after Cloud.”

“Direct as always, General.” Leaning forward in his chair, Rufus props his elbows on the desk, chin coming to rest on his laced fingers, a serious look on his face. Sephiroth tenses instinctually. With that look, whatever it is can’t be good. “There have been reports of unrest in Wutai.”

“Avalanche, sir?”

“That branch was dealt with when Veld took out Fuhito.” Rufus gives him a long, hard look before sighing. “No, it would appear that somebody has it out for you, Sephiroth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- It might be canon that Hojo believes Sephiroth dead at first after Nibelheim, but I thought it would be creepier if he did think he was still alive somehow. (Though, he didn't seem that surprised in the Remake to find out that Sephiroth was wandering the halls of the Shinra Building...)  
> \- I'm sorry about the first part of the dream... I'm not sorry about the second part, though lol


	18. Chapter 18

“Have you called your mother, Cloud? I’m sure she’s been worried about you.”

Cloud abandons his impromptu bout of wrestling – Zack had started it, he swears – to gape up at Mrs. Gainsborough. Shit. He knew he had forgotten something. “I… Uh… No.” He had been far too terrified to even consider it at first, and then everything with Aerith, the 1sts, _Sephiroth_ had just happened so fast.

Mrs. Gainsborough groans and looks like she very dearly wants to whack him with her spatula. Her spatula which is luckily back in the kitchen. “Well? What are you waiting for?” With the added help of her sudden distraction, Cloud finally manages to roll Zack off of him before stumbling to his feet, Zack’s indignant squawking thankfully enough to divert Mrs. Gainsborough’s attention away from him. “As for you, Zack, why don’t you make yourself useful and clean up all these blankets and pillows?” she asks, exasperated, gesturing to the makeshift bedding. Zack’s awkward, hurried “Yes, ma’am!” seems to be enough to placate her and she pauses long enough to shake her head at both of them before turning on her heel and walking away. “Honestly, Aerith has only been gone for 3 minutes tops and that’s all that it takes for the two of you to start acting like rowdy toddlers.”

As Mrs. Gainsborough disappears up the stairs, Cloud rips his PHS from his pocket – almost flings it across the room in his haste, too, but who’s keeping track? Ignoring Zack’s soft whistle and embarrassed “Oopsies. My bad.”, he fiddles with the device, heart sinking in his chest when he realizes that it won’t turn on. How does he call her now? “Z-Zack…?”

“Don’t worry, Spike. She still likes you,” Zack says, poking at the crease in Cloud’s brow.

Cloud shakes his head forcefully – that’s not what he’s worried about, at least not right now. “My PHS is dead. My mom is probably freaking out and the dang battery is dead.”

“Oh.” As if it were an obvious solution, Zack easily draws his own PHS from his pocket and holds it out to Cloud. “Use mine then. You know your mom’s number?”

Nodding his head dumbly, Cloud accepts the proffered PHS with a soft “Thanks.” As he dials his mom’s number – thankfully one he knows by heart – Zack turns to survey the mess the three of them had made, hands on his hips, and sighs. “Well, I guess this won’t clean itself up… Shame.”

The phone barely rings once before Cloud hears the audible click of the call connecting. _“Strife residence.”_ The familiar voice nearly makes Cloud cry again – how long had it been since he had last heard her voice?

“Mom?”

There’s a sharp intake of breath and then he can almost feel the aggravation in his mother’s tone. _“Cloud. Strife. Where have you been? I half expected to get a call saying that you had died!”_ Oh crap. That was how she sounded the last time he got into a fight with Butch back in Nibelheim. He hadn’t meant to hurt her so much.

“Mom, I’m sorry…”

_“Oh, you better be sorry, young man. Just what was so important that you couldn’t call for over 48 hours?”_

“Well… The day before yesterday, I…” He chokes on his words, flashes of the other day fluttering unwelcome through his mind once more. Taking a shaky breath, he tries once more, “I-I…”

The change in his mother is immediate, aggravation taking a swift backseat to concern. _“Stormcloud, what’s wrong? What happened?”_

As if a dam inside of him had broken, the tears fall freely down his face as he recounts the events of that horrible day. Zack continues tidying up in silence, but his hunched shoulders and tense frame make it clear that he’s just as affected by the story and Cloud’s grief as his mother. Luckily, though, the teen doesn’t make any move to comfort him. As much as he enjoyed being in his friend’s arms before, as wonderful as it had felt, he honestly doesn’t think he can handle being coddled by the both of them right now.

There are a few tense, painful moments of silence after he finishes his story. When his mother speaks again, she sounds just as heartbroken as him. _“I don’t want you there anymore, Stormcloud. I’ve never liked the thought of you being trained by that man. This is all his fault.”_

“What?? Mom, no. It’s not his fault. He wanted to kill them when he heard what happened.” And Cloud can’t deny the fire that had trailed up his spine at the man’s admission. Can’t deny the butterflies in his stomach just at the thought of it.

His mother scoffs and grumbles out, _“Sounds like something he would do.”_

**_“The shiver of her flesh yielding to cold steel.”_ **

“What…?” Cloud doesn’t have the brainpower to spare to the strange voice in his head. Besides, it wasn’t like it was a new occurrence or anything, best to just ignore it like usual. “What do you mean something he would do?”

There’s a long sigh on the other end of the line before his mother explains, _“He’s the General of Shinra’s army. Killing people is what he does.”_

“Mom, he’s not doing it for fun.” There’s a soft snort, but he can’t tell if it was from his mom or from the voice deep inside of him acting up again, trying to tell him he has no idea what he’s talking about. Well, apparently one day wasn’t enough to fix the weirdness with him. “Sephiroth… He’s one of the only people who treats me like I’m actually worth something. He searched all day for me when I went missing. Him, Zack, and the other 1sts all did.”

_“Zack?”_

“Oh, didn’t I mention him? SOLDIER 1st Class Zack Fair. He’s my friend.” Cloud stares fondly at the teen. The teen who has paused suspiciously in front of the stairs, remaining blankets in tow, one foot hanging forgotten in the air, as if making the world’s worst attempt at eavesdropping. Holding back his chuckle at the teen’s antics, he elaborates, as much for Zack’s benefit as his mother’s, “My best friend.”

Zack turns a brilliant smile his way, removing any and all doubt that he was shamelessly listening in, as his mother reacts to his confession. _“Sounds like a good kid. Is he there right now?”_

“Oh? Yeah, he is. He let me borrow his PHS since I didn’t realize my battery had died.”

_“Can I talk to him?”_

Zack accepts his PHS back with a cheeky “Thanks, bestie!” and Cloud can’t help the roll of his eyes as he takes the blankets off the teen’s hands. He also can’t stop the smile splitting his face as he heads up the stairs. He’s just able to make out Zack charming his mother – “Mrs. Strife? Hi, this is Zack. It’s an honor to finally make your acquaintance.” – before he reaches the second floor landing and the voices become indistinct. He would prefer to know what they’re talking about, but he trusts Zack to not say anything bad about him… or Sephiroth.

Cloud has just returned the blankets to the hallway closet they had found them in when he has the most terrible thought. It’s not Zack he has to worry about. It’s his own mother. She knows _all_ the embarrassing stories, including the one time he had torn through the house in a Chocobo onesie clucking all the way. Yes, he does, in fact, know that Chocobos don’t cluck – he was 4 for Gaia’s sake.

But even worse, his mother has never had someone to divulge these stories to. Cloud’s always had a finite number of friends and had so far been wise enough not to let them talk to her. And he had just left Zack alone with her.

Shit.

Racing down the stairs, he’s just in time to catch Zack nodding as he reassures Cloud’s mother. “That is perfectly fine, Mrs. Strife. I know that Sephiroth is most people’s idol.”

A pout is firmly plastered on Cloud’s face before he fully realizes it. Did his mother honestly not trust his own judgement because she thought he was some simpering fanboy? Ok, he is a fanboy, but he’s not _that_ bad. …Right? Zack has his back to him, one hand on his hip, but Cloud still (childishly) hopes that the teen can feel his eyes boring into him. Can feel the heat of his sulking at the current topic of their conversation. If he can, he doesn’t let on, posture relaxed and open.

“I understand, ma’am. If it makes you feel better, Sephiroth really cares about your son.” Ok, there goes the pout, replaced instead with that oh-so-familiar blush. Just what had his mother said to warrant a response like that? “We all do. We had heard about Cloud’s bully and were all trying to protect him, but…” Zack’s voice breaks around his words and, oh, so that’s how he must have felt when Cloud was the one telling his tale. “I’m sorry, ma’am, we might have just made things worse.”

If Zack wasn’t on the phone, Cloud would have slapped him. Heck, he very nearly does so anyway. The teen had already beaten it into his skull that what had happened wasn’t Cloud’s fault, so it most definitely wasn’t Zack’s either. Before he can decide the best course of action to persuade Zack he’s just being dumb, though, the teen sniffs and admits, “Yes, ma’am. I know it’s not really my fault. It just hurt so much when I heard what happened.” Alright, maybe he doesn’t have to resort to violence after all.

Zack’s free hand moves from his hip to rub vigorously at his eyes, then the teen is slapping his cheek twice. When he speaks next, there’s still a hint of regret, but his tone has mostly returned to its usual bright confidence. “I do, ma’am. I would trust Sephiroth with my life.” Nodding at whatever Cloud’s mother says, he responds, “I’m glad to be of help!”

Returning the phone with a cheerful “Absolutely!”, Zack gives him a quick, comforting squeeze of the shoulder before his mother starts talking again. _“That friend of yours is quite the charmer, little Stormcloud.”_ His mother pauses for a moment, then sighs. _“Alright. You can stay there if it means that much to you. But you have to promise me that you’ll find Zack or Sephiroth if you ever have trouble again. Is that understood, young man?”_

No sooner has he given his mother his promise, no sooner has the call ended, then Aerith returns from wherever she had run off to when her own PHS had rung. “Ok. After breakfast, we have to go to the plate! It’ll be the best!”

* * *

“It would appear that somebody has it out for you, Sephiroth.”

Sephiroth blinks slowly, wordlessly, uncharacteristically uncomprehending. Somebody has it out for him? So what? “I’m not sure I get your point, sir. I’m pretty sure half of Wutai alone hates me.”

“They fear you – your strength, your cunning. But they don’t hate you.” Rufus smirks as he leans back in his chair. “At least not anymore. The people of Wutai value honor above all else. And what’s more honorable than the General and Commanders of the opposing army helping their former enemy rebuild?”

Sephiroth’s eyes narrow as the puzzle pieces finally fall into place. “So, that’s why you insisted we help out. That was all a publicity stunt.”

Rufus sighs as if Sephiroth is being particularly obtuse. Perhaps he is, but he doesn’t like being played with for P.R., regardless of who’s pulling the strings this time. “It was a sign of good faith between two former adversaries. As was Lord Godo’s warning of this potential assassination attempt. He recognizes that an attack against you would be viewed as another declaration of war. Luckily, he has enough sense to want to avoid that, especially with all the work put into negotiating peace.”

“Any word on the assailants?” He tries not to sound too callous, too flippant. It would be terrible if war broke out again, but he has absolutely no concern for his well-being in the slightest. It’s not like the warriors of Wutai would ever be able to scratch him. Sure, they were no doubt skilled by their own standards, but he wasn’t known as the Demon of Wutai for nothing. Nothing short of an enhanced, adult Cloud could ever bring him down.

The President’s grimace is all the answer he needs. “Unfortunately, no. Whoever it is is incredibly skilled at covering their tracks. All that Lord Godo’s operatives have been able to gather is hearsay. But whoever it is wants you dead and has been working to garner public support and assemble a hit team.”

“I’m not concerned about my own safety, sir.”

Rufus raises an eyebrow his way. “It’s not you that I’m worried about, General. It’s Cloud.”

Before Sephiroth can do more than grunt in surprise, the doors to the office are sliding open, Reno announcing his and Rude’s arrival the only way the red-head knows how – loudly. “Yo, Boss! Those brutes have been crated up and are on their way to Corel! Blondie won’t have to worry about them anymore!”

“Thank you, Reno.”

Reno saunters past Sephiroth to lean a hip against the President’s desk, Rude following silently behind. “And we didn’t touch a single hair on their heads.”

Rufus raises an eyebrow his way, but doesn’t get the chance to voice his suspicions, Tseng leaning over the side of the President’s chair, one hand behind his back. “Sir. It would appear that we have company.”

Spinning around in his chair, Rufus scoffs when he sees the familiar airship hovering over the helipad outside. “Did they honestly come all this way to get revenge, too?”

* * *

_“Tifa!”_

Even with how icky she feels, even with how horrified she still is at what had almost happened to Cloud, Tifa can’t help the smile that splits her face. “Aerith! How is he?”

_“Good. He’s doing good. Still hurt, obviously, but I think Zack and I have done a pretty good job of cheering him up.”_ Aerith pauses, humming softly as if unsure whether to voice her next words. When she does speak again, part of Tifa really wishes she hadn’t. _“I think Sephiroth helped a lot, too.”_

Tifa can’t help the scoff. “Sephiroth?? Really, Aerith?”

The girl’s answering giggle could be a blanket wrapped snug around her with how deeply it warms her – it had only been a couple days, but she had really missed that laugh. _“Sephiroth was just as worried as the rest of us. You should have seen him when he saw Cloud, Tif. I’ve never seen him looked so relieved.”_

“What do you want me to do? Give him an award for finally developing something resembling human emotion?” Tifa rolls her eyes at the thought. Aerith might have forgiven him – or perhaps didn’t even blame him – but Tifa wasn’t that nice. She wasn’t ready to forgive him, not just like that, not when she still suffered from the trauma caused by the man’s failure.

_“Tiiiiiifffffffaaaaaaaaaaa…..”_

She grimaces at the whine in the girl’s voice – Aerith still knew just how to press her buttons. “You’re doing that on purpose.”

_“Is it working?”_

Tifa shakes her head, amused. Two could play that game. “Not going to deny it?”

_“Nope!”_ She finds herself joining in on the laughter this time – it will be so good to finally see her again. “ _Just try to keep an open mind, ok?”_

Tifa doesn’t answer right away, staring out the window, deep in thought. How could she keep an open mind? Shiva’s tits, this was Sephiroth they were talking about. Running a hand through her hair, aggravated, she huffs out a sigh. “I make no promises.” Just as suddenly as it came on, she feels her frustration ebb away – she really can’t wait to see Aerith again. Failing horribly at keeping the smirk from her voice, she drawls, “You know, you and Cloud should totally come up to the plate in a couple hours.”

_“The plate…?”_

She’s not entirely successful at stopping her snickering at the other’s confusion. It was nice to have the upper hand for once. “Yeah. We should be there soon, but Barret wants to have a little chat with Rufus first.”

* * *

There’s a soft “Tifa…?” when they enter Rufus’s office, but she’s not paying attention, she can’t help it. Her body acts on its own, freezing just past the threshold as she stares horrified at the sight of the silver-haired devil in the center of the room. What was _he_ doing here? Yes, sure, she knew he worked here. But this was all too much, too soon.

Adding to her alarm, the nightmare eyeballs her in return, confusion clear on his face. Realization dawning on the demon’s face and two words from his mouth – “The cowgirl?” – are all it takes. Suddenly, she’s 15 again (mentally), watching the world burn around her, begging her father not to leave as the light fades from his eyes.

Before she realizes it, the fire he had set is consuming her, her entire body ablaze as the terror all but melts away. Shaking head to toe with rage she doesn’t even try to conceal, she ignores Rufus’s dry “Here we go” as she stomps over to Sephiroth, stopping the exact length of Masamune away from him. “ _Murderer!_ ” Even with all the anger burning through her, she doesn’t miss the calculating look on his face, as if he knows exactly why she stopped where she did. And that pisses her off even more – she hates that he can read her so easily.

“Whoa, whoa. Why are you yelling at him?”

Tifa turns a betrayed look Barret’s way. Why was he _defending_ the monster?? Had he forgotten what Sephiroth had done, what he had _been_? She certainly hadn’t. “It’s _all_ his fault!” Good thing she never made that promise to Aerith – no way would she be able to keep an open mind.

Barret lays one of his bear-sized hands on her shoulder – probably to calm her, but she just stares at the appendage, disgusted. “This wasn’t his fault, Tifa, and you know it.” Why was Barret taking _his_ side??

“Everything’s always his fault!” She yells, angry eyes trained on the silver-haired wretch, as her body stamps a foot entirely on its own. Good Gaia. What was she, 5? She’s embarrassing herself.

Barret turns her towards him, one enormous hand now on each of her shoulders, voice soft and gentle as if she were some skittish animal. “Hey, Sephiroth has been trying to protect Cloud. What happened with the bullies is not his fault. Ok?” Her answering grumble is very much unintelligible, but Barret seems to take it as agreement anyway, smiling as he turns her back towards Sephiroth. “Now, isn’t there something else you want to say to him?”

“Yeah.” Her voice and face no doubt border on sickeningly sweet as she stares down the man, Sephiroth raising a single eyebrow in return. Taking a deep breath, her eyes harden once more. “I _hate_ you!!”

Barret groans, hand once more restraining her in case she tried to do something inadvisable – like scratch the demon’s eyes out. Shame. It might be cathartic, even if she never succeeded. “Ok. That’s just the kid in you talking.”

“No. That’s the adult in me talking.”

Letting out what can only pass as a strangled whine, Barret turns pleading eyes towards their other companion. “Yo, Cid! You planning to help out today?”

Cid scoffs, amusement clear in his gruff voice when he responds. “Why would I? I’m enjoyin’ the show! If I had known Rapunzel was gonna be here, I woulda brought some popcorn!” The man slaps a leg as he laughs, hard. “Oh, man. This is _so_ much better than _Loveless_. Definitely not gonna fall asleep during this!”

The sound of a throat clearing draws her attention away and she finds Tseng standing next to the President, hands clasped behind his back, the man watching her warily. Did he think she was about to take a crack at Rufus, too? She very nearly rolls her eyes. Did he forget that it was Rufus who had tried to kill _her_ before? Well, whatever. Mustering whatever remaining goodwill she has left, she tries for a charming smile. As long as it doesn’t come out as a pained grimace, she doesn’t care. “Good morning, Tseng. Rufus.” She doesn’t drop her guard, though – would never drop her guard around Sephiroth – keeping the abomination in her periphery.

It takes her far longer than normal to notice the other two Turks in the room – she really needs to work on her observational skills, apparently. Hoping they don’t catch her blunder, she hastily adds, “And Reno. And… Rude.”

“Thanks for not forgetting about us, yo,” is Reno’s teasing remark, but Tifa only has eyes for Rude now. Rude, who stares back at her, a pinched look on his face. Was he mad that she was yelling at Sephiroth, too? Was nobody on her side? Cid doesn’t count, he’s only in it for a good laugh.

“Ms. Lockhart.” Tseng calls her attention back to him, the man ever the picture of reserved grace. “I realize this must be hard for you and I can’t imagine how painful it is for you to see him again.” Tifa knows there must be quite the unimpressed look on her face – she can feel it. Of course he couldn’t imagine how painful it was, he had _absolutely_ no idea. “But Sephiroth did not have a say in anything. He was being controlled by Jenova.”

Not that excuse again. “Cloud was controlled by Jenova, too. But only when he was still suffering from the effects of Hojo’s experimentation. After his psyche was healed, he didn’t have any problem resisting.”

“Ms. Lockhart.” Her entire body tenses at the soft voice as she turns her ire back to the demon in the middle of the floor. “I know it is far too little, far too late, but I am so very sorry for what I did while under the thrall of Jenova.” All Tifa manages is a scowl in his direction – sorry didn’t change things – before Sephiroth continues, “Yes, Cloud was able to resist her call, but his Jenova cells came from me. His link to her was diluted as a result. I would like to believe that I would be able to resist her this time around, but I refuse to take any chances. I don’t want to do… anything like _that_ ever again.”

Tifa feels her scowl slip for the barest of seconds at the sincerity in his tone before she slaps it back on – she can’t show any vulnerability in front of the man. “So that’s why you’re training Cloud? In case you screw up again?”

There’s the slightest of grimaces on the man’s face as he answers, “Yes.”

“And if Cloud never remembers, then what? Do you honestly think he’ll be able to kill you if it comes to that? He idolizes you.”

“…He did once before.”

Tifa raises an eyebrow. “That was after you burned our hometown to the ground and killed most everybody in it. His mom included. I thought the plan was to avoid that this time around.”

“It is…” Sephiroth sighs, looking rather uncomfortable with her interrogation. Good. Serves him right. “If it comes to that, I will explain everything to him… including what’s expected of him. I would like to think, though, that he will remember.” At her expectant look, he elaborates, “He seems to be remembering things, subconsciously at least. We sparred the other day and his movements were an exact mirror-image of when we fought in the ruins of Midgar.”

“You mean the fight where you skewered him?”

Barret chokes on his breath somewhere to her right. “S-skewered?”

Eyes never leaving slitted green, she explains. “Cloud never told me what happened, but I was the one who always mended his clothing. The holes in them said it all. There was even one through his goddamn shoe!”

“Sephiroth…” Barret growls, Cid looking rather pissed off himself. Maybe she wasn’t alone after all. “Is that true?”

There’s a sad look in Sephiroth’s eyes, but Tifa won’t let herself be tricked. “I won’t deny it. At that point, I was too far gone. I had absolutely no means of resisting Jenova. All the more reason that Cloud be ready to cut me down if I lose myself again.”

“Haven’t you made Cloud suffer enough?” Tifa asks, arms crossed over her chest. She wasn’t ready to give in just yet. If Cloud wasn’t able to defend himself, they better believe she would.

“Unfortunately, Cloud was the only one who could ever stop me.”

“Surely, there are other 1sts. Can’t you just _use_ one of them instead?” Tifa doesn’t miss his flinch at her choice of wording. She almost feels sorry for the man… she means monster, but she has to be strong, right? She can’t be fooled again.

Sephiroth’s fists ball up at his sides as he answers. “Two of the 1sts are in the same boat – they received the same _treatment_ as I did. And Zack… He tried to stop me before, but was unsuccessful.” Oh, he didn’t need to tell her that. She remembers. Remembers Zack’s battered body being knocked out of the reactor’s core as she lay there bleeding out. “I don’t want to get him involved again, but Cloud is the only safe option. No matter what I did, he always surprised me. Always found a way to defeat me.”

Staring down the object of her nightmares, she dissects the man – his words, his posture, his behavior. When she finds nothing that would suggest even the slightest hint of deceit, she sighs exasperated. She can tell when she’s hit a dead end. She’ll just have to insist that Zack keep a close eye on their friend. First things first, though. “If you make even the slightest misstep, Sephiroth, you’ll have to answer to my boot.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

She can’t help the shell-shocked feeling – she had not expected that response. Yes, she knows this conversation didn’t go at all how she expected it to, but she still was expecting the usual mocking look she had become so accustomed to when it came to Sephiroth.

Groaning frustrated, she realizes she’s not going to get anywhere with this. Not fast, anyway. Might as well make a strategic retreat. Barret and Cid can handle the bullies from here on out – Cloud needs her now. Turning to Rufus, she summons up the sweetest look she can manage. “Mr. President, would it be alright for me to borrow Rude for just a little bit?” Ignoring Rufus’s raised eyebrow, Reno’s cackling, and Rude’s entirely flabbergasted look, she continues, “I’m supposed to meet Aerith and Cloud soon, but I figure I probably shouldn’t be walking around the Tower by myself. Not to mention I don’t actually have a keycard this time around.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- In case it's not obvious, I love Tifa :)  
> \- I had absolutely no idea until a couple weeks ago that if you talk to Cid towards the end of the original game, he'll tell you that when he was in Midgar training to be a pilot, he had some free time and decided to go see Loveless (why he chose this over literally anything else, I have no idea). Anyway, the play put him to sleep, like he thought it would (so once again - why?), and he only caught the final scene cause the guy next to him woke him up for snoring too loud.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I may have made the mistake (or good business sense?) of buying Elder Scrolls Online when it was on sale for Black Friday. Didn't find out until after I had bought and downloaded the entire thing that I needed a PS+ subscription to play it, but that's another story entirely... Anyway, I still have every intention of updating this fic weekly, but if I get behind, I'll make sure to leave a note somewhere (probably the beginning of the latest chapter). I've been good about managing my time so far, but going from my love of Skyrim and the fact that I haven't really played a video game since I started this fic in August, I won't rule anything out.

“You’re looking… well.”

It’s the first thing out of Rude’s mouth as the elevator begins its slow descent, the walk from Rufus’s office spent in a silence as uncomfortable as Rude himself looks. Entire body tense, the man makes no motion to look at her, the pinched look he wore while she interrogated Sephiroth still wrinkling his face. He did just have to deal with Barret threatening his manhood, but she doesn’t think that’s entirely it.

“Thanks. You don’t look half bad yourself.” The only sign she has that her words are heard is a soft grunt and a fleeting sidelong glance her way. Well, this is awkward. Guess she’ll have to make the first move. “If you have something to say, Rude, please say it.”

A muscle in his jaw works itself for a long moment before he finally makes a decision, the man turning the full force of his attention on her. If he hears her soft gasp at the sudden scrutiny, he chooses not to say anything, his sunglasses doing nothing to dull the intensity of his gaze. “Do you hate me, Tifa?”

Apparently, it’s her turn to be completely dumbfounded, pure confusion written all over her face. She was not expecting that. “Why would I hate you?”

“I dropped the plate.”

“You were ordered to, though. I know how much you and Reno regret it.”

Rude sighs. In a single fluid movement, he’s removed his sunglasses and stored them, folded, in his coat pocket. When he returns his eyes to her, she can see the depth of his sadness in them. “Can’t the same be said for Sephiroth, though? Jenova ordered him to wreak chaos. He had no choice.”

“No choice…” Tifa repeats listlessly, mind a million miles away, brain wrapped in a cloud of smoke. She can feel her nails digging into the flesh of her palms and knows she’ll just leave marks, but she can’t bring herself to care. This isn’t what she wanted to hear. She wasn’t ready. Wasn’t ready to give up her hate, wasn’t ready to feel sorry for the man who had destroyed her _everything_. Who had taken her father from her. Who had taken Aerith from her.

“He had less choice than Reno and I. We could have said no.” Tifa very nearly laughs – she doubts Heidegger or the former President would have taken that kindly. “We were in full control of our actions. We knew exactly what we were doing when we dropped the plate. And we still dropped it.” Tifa grimaces – she doesn’t need to be reminded. She was there. “We easily killed as many people as Sephiroth did.” Rude smiles wryly, eyes never leaving her. “But we’re Turks.”

“And you’re damn good at it?”

His answering chuckle is a touch bitter, something like loss flashing through his eyes as he nods. “Yeah. We are.”

Leaning back against the glass of the elevator, Tifa crosses her arms in front of her and _thinks_. Sephiroth is evil, she had first-hand experience to prove it… but he had no choice. Reno and Rude had more control over their actions and killed _so_ many people… so shouldn’t she hate them just as much? If she forgave them… shouldn’t she forgive Sephiroth, too? Mind a jumbled mess, thoughts trying to run in a million different directions at the same _damn_ time, she groans, one hand running up to tug aggravated at her hair. This was just too much for her right now. “I can’t forgive Sephiroth. Not right now, maybe not ever,” she finally decides, the hurt puppy-dog look still carved on Rude’s face. “But – ” But there’s one thing she does know. For certain. A flicker of hope flashes through Rude’s eyes as she smiles up at him. “But I don’t hate you. Not one bit.”

“I… Ahhh… T-thanks.” Several emotions pass unchecked through his eyes – surprise, relief, hope, _adoration_ – before he manages to blink himself out of his stupor long enough to pull his sunglasses out of his pocket, returning them to his face with fumbling hands. The ding of the elevator as they arrive at the 1st floor saves him from further embarrassment.

Or so he probably thinks.

Hands clasped behind her back, she struts out of the elevator and teases him, Rude going tense next to her as she drawls out her first word. “Soooo… Cloud tells me you’ve been asking about me.” Not giving him time to respond, he’s only had the chance to cough awkwardly into a fist when she comes in for the kill. “Said you were acting like a lovesick puppy.”

He stumbles over thin air before coming to a complete stop, gaping at her, a hint of red starting to dust his cheeks. “You were an adult then, Tifa.”

She nods sagely. “So I was. And if you plan to make a move, you’ll have to wait until I come of age again.”

“I’m not attracted to your 13-year-old self.”

Tifa can tell the exact moment that her words and his almost-confession catch up to him, Rude’s mouth closing with an audible _click_ and his face turning a vibrant shade of bright red. Giggling at his reaction, she resists the urge to tell him he’s adorable, settling instead with, “I’m 14 now, actually. My birthday was about a month ago.”

Rude, still floundering in front of her, somehow manages to squeak out a weak, “H-happy birthday.”

“Thanks.” Smiling up at his still crimson face, she can’t help herself one last jab. “Huh. Red’s a good look on you.”

If possible, the blush overtaking his face darkens, extending down to his neck, as he stares at her unbelieving, his eyes no doubt wide behind his sunglasses. She’s not sure how long he stands there, barely breathing, before the man swallows audibly, taking in a shaky breath as a single bead of sweat makes its way down the side of his head, disappearing beneath the collar of his dress shirt. “I-I’ll k-keep that i-in mind.” His voice practically squeaks as he stutters his way through his words, so much so that Tifa almost feels sorry for embarrassing him. _Almost_.

“You do that.”

When he finally composes himself again and they make it outside, Rude waits silently beside her until she sees three familiar figures crossing the pedestrian bridge their way. Unable to hide her delighted gasp, she turns to Rude, body practically thrumming in excitement. “Thanks for escorting me, Rude!”

“It was my pleasure… Tifa.”

Off like a shot once he finishes saying her name, she misses the small smile on his face as she leaves. She also doesn’t notice how he hangs back and watches until she collides with Aerith, before finally turning around and returning to the Tower.

* * *

Heather doesn’t hate working the front reception desk like many of her colleagues. But that doesn’t mean she likes it either. No, she would much rather be back in the call center where she could joke with her coworkers or mess around on her PHS if things were slow. Or even where she could make faces when people were being particularly dumb or offensive. Not at the reception desk. Here, she had to be all smiles even when the occasional creep tried their hand with pathetic lines like “Hey Sweetcheeks, whatcha doing after work?” As tempted as she always is to offer a dry “Not you” in return, she can’t. All about the optics.

So, yeah, by all accounts, she thought today was going to be boring or even bordering on annoying. But that, of course, was before an honest-to-Gaia child stepped out of the VIP elevator with one of the Turks. Subtly feeling her forehead, she’s a little disappointed to find that she doesn’t actually have a fever. Guess she’s not hallucinating after all.

“So… Cloud tells me you’ve been asking about me.” The bald-headed Turk’s embarrassment is easily apparent as his adolescent companion starts talking. Heather’s just wondering what the man could have said to have him so uncomfortable, when the last thing she expected to hear falls out of the girl’s mouth. “Said you were acting like a lovesick puppy.”

Acting like a lovesick puppy? Over a very easily apparent underage girl? Heather’s not sure whether she wants to throw up or ignore every warning she’s ever heard about picking fights with Turks and leaving in body bags to confront this potential pedophile. She doesn’t get a chance to decide, though, the Turk’s response chilling her to the bone. “You were an adult then, Tifa.”

“So I was. And if you plan to make a move, you’ll have to wait until I come of age again.”

Heather misses the rest of their strange, _strange_ conversation, lost in her own horrified thoughts as she is. She knew of Research and Development and had obviously heard rumors of the shady things that happened under Hojo’s supervision. But this… Was this even possible? Turning a grown adult into a child? R&D is the only logical explanation, though… aside from the two of them being insane, of course.

Wait. The Turk had called her Tifa. Wasn’t she the one who called for Mr. Tseng all those weeks ago? Whom surprisingly Mr. Tseng had actually known? If she was a once adult turned experiment, then no wonder.

Suddenly, everything clicks into place (and really makes her want to throw up). The poor girl – _woman_ – was one of Hojo’s unfortunate victims… who somehow escaped? She really, _really_ hopes that that’s a sign that this President doesn’t approve of human experimentation. How else would this Tifa be roaming the halls of the Tower so freely? How else would she be allowed to leave the building?

Heather breathes a sigh of relief. She doesn’t like what happened to Tifa one bit, but if she was free, then it shouldn’t happen to anybody else. She knew there was something different – _better_ – about President Rufus compared to his predecessor (and not just his good looks!).

But then another realization rocks her to her core, a single tear sliding down her face. Those two obviously had some history. Were they former lovers? Ripped apart by Hojo’s scheming? She wants to cry for them, for how unfair it is. But she also wants to squeal like the romantic that she is. The Turk had obviously not given up on Tifa, if the _lovesick puppy_ comment was anything to go by.

She can’t wait to tell Aisha – her friend is just as much a sap for love stories as she is. …No. Wait. She can’t tell anybody. Can’t tell a soul a single word of what she just overheard. Hojo and his experimentation might be gone, but the Turks weren’t. And they could still make people disappear. Especially foolish people who didn’t know how to keep their mouths shut about potential human experimentation.

Casting a nervous glance around the lobby, she heaves a sigh when she realizes that she’s alone. Tifa and the Turk were gone and there doesn’t appear to be anybody else who would have noticed her ill-advised eavesdropping. She’s safe for now. She’ll just have to keep her mouth shut and wish them the best silently.

* * *

“Aerith!”

The strangely familiar voice pulls Cloud from his conversation with Zack – tips on how to beat Kunsel at the arcade, not that he even knows how he got so good in the first place – and he looks up to see an impossible sight running their way. He looks up to see Tifa of all people racing towards them. Tifa who should be back in Nibelheim. Not in Midgar. How had she even gotten there?

Before he can even work through the confusion to ask, Aerith has launched herself at the other girl with a happy shout of “Tifa!” As the two embrace, the only thought running through his head is _how do they know each other?_

Far too soon for his shock to have abated, Tifa breaks away from Aerith, her eyes finding his own dazed ones. He chokes out an uncertain “T-Tifa?” as a tear slides down her cheek, worry clear on her face. There’s a cry of “Cloud!” and then in a flurry of blue dress and black hair, he finds himself wrapped in her.

“Oh, Cloud…” His arms hang limp at his side as she buries her face into his neck, her arms snug around his back. “Are you ok?”

He tenses instantly. How did she know? He certainly hadn’t told her. And he certainly isn’t going to tell her that everything still hurts. How would he impress her if he did? If she knew just how weak he was? He knows things have changed in the past few days, has felt them change, but the desire to impress her is still there. Is always there.

A little shakier than he would care for, he brings his arms up to return the hug and reassure her that everything’s fine. But the command must get jumbled somewhere between his brain and the rest of his body, and instead he finds himself pulling back to get a good look at her face as he asks, “How do you know about that?”

“Aerith told me.” Her answer is simple, but it still doesn’t help his confusion.

“But… how do you know Aerith?”

Tifa looks to the other girl as if for confirmation, Aerith just shrugging in response. Ok, Cloud really has no idea what’s going on. When she turns back to him, Tifa apparently hasn’t decided to start making sense. “Aerith’s an old friend. She visited Nibelheim a long time ago.”

Old friend? Visited Nibelheim a long time ago? But they were both teenagers… “What…”Cloud starts but cuts himself off with the shake of his head, somehow knowing that he won’t get any further with that line of questioning. “How did you even get here, Tifa?”

“I got a ride with some friends!”

“What… You… Huh?” He struggles with his thoughts for several long moments before deciding that the oncoming headache is not worth the trouble. “I give up.”

“I was worried about you, Cloud.” Tifa’s voice is soft, her tone matching her words, as she cups his face in both hands. Staring wide-eyed back at her, he can only manage to nod dumbly when she asks again, “Are you ok?”

“I’m better now.” Or maybe it was just the bewilderment hiding the residual pain. Why would she come all the way from Nibelheim just for him? Just to make sure he was ok? He’s pretty sure he didn’t make that much of an impression that night on the water tower. Besides, wasn’t he the one who was supposed to rescue _her_ if she was in a pinch?

Tifa nods and smiles, lacing an arm through one of his and interrupting his still spiraling thoughts. “Good. Now, Aerith and I are going to cheer you up… and Zack too, probably.” She tacks on the last part hastily, as if just remembering that he was there.

“Nice to see you, too, Tifa,” Zack teases back.

Cloud shouldn’t be so surprised that Zack knows her, too. But he is. Before he can figure out whether it’s worth asking (he probably wouldn’t get a satisfactory answer anyway), Aerith has attached herself to his other arm. As they walk towards the train station, Cloud still trapped between the two, he can’t shake the eerie feeling that they’re heading towards a haunted graveyard.

* * *

After Cid has talked Barret out of threatening Rude with bodily harm if anything happens to Tifa – “ _Ya dumbass! You know our Tifa could kick Baldie’s ass even in her pint-sized form. Not that Sunglasses ever raised a finger ‘gainst her when she was his enemy anyway._ ” After Rude has silently escorted Ms. Lockhart out, Barret turns the full force of his ire to Sephiroth. “As for you, Sephiroth. You better watch yourself.” The man stomps up to him and pokes a finger into his chest, not showing the same cunning judgement that his young friend had. “If I hear that you even consider hurting Cloud again, I’ll be back for you.”

Sephiroth sighs. “It sounds like you’ll have to wait in line.”

“I swear, ya numbskull, it’s like you don’t even listen sometimes,” Cid berates Barret once more, scoffing at whatever face his companion makes. “Oh, dontcha go makin’ that face at me. I hate the idea of Quicksilver here skewerin’ Cloud just as much as you, but you heard him say that he was under that alien freak’s control. You were just defendin’ him not 2 minutes ‘go. How is this any different than him burnin’ Nibelheim to the ground?”

The low growl Barret makes seems to be his sign of defeat. “Alright, fine. You’ve made your point, Cid.” Barret grumbles angrily as he removes the finger still jabbed into Sephiroth’s chest and turns to Rufus. “Oi, Rufus! Where are those no-good bullies?”

“On their way to Corel Prison at the moment.”

“Corel, eh?”

Rufus rests his chin against a fist, eyebrow raised, looking rather exasperated with Barret’s transparent interest and the continued interruption. “Yes. And I intend for them to stay there, too.” Barret opens his mouth to speak, but Rufus doesn’t give him the chance. “Enough with the theatrics, Barret. None of us like what happened to Cloud, but you will not confront those delinquents, am I clear?” The large man’s rumbling is just as incoherent as his friend’s before, but for some (seemingly foolish) reason Rufus takes it as a concession anyway. “Good. Just remember I have eyes and ears everywhere. If they bad-mouth Cloud again, you’ll be one of the first to know. Then, and only then, you’ll have permission to do whatever you please.” Rufus smirks. “Though, you might want to let the 1sts have a go, too.”

Barret thinks for a long moment before heaving a large sigh. “I think I can live with that.”

“Good. Now, if you would, please park that airship somewhere else.”

“What’s wrong, Rufus-baby?” The President twitches at the nickname, but otherwise doesn’t do anything to interrupt Cid. “Can’t let us park there while we go shoppin’?”

Rufus rolls his eyes. “No. That helipad is for emergencies. You two buying gifts for your wives is not an emergency.”

“Fun-sucker.”

* * *

“Cloud!”

They’re not even halfway to the train station when another familiar voice has Cloud turning around. But before he can greet the three cadets running his way, Tifa is in front of him, fists raised. “Don’t even think about it,” she all but threatens, her menacing aura more than enough to stop Cloud’s roommates dead in their tracks.

“Tifa…” Cloud sighs, laying a hand on her shoulder and stepping out from behind her. “It’s ok. Those are my friends. They won’t hurt me.” As he’s engulfed in three more sets of arms, he doesn’t catch Tifa’s soft, confused “Friends…?”

Garrett is the first to recover from his relief, crossing his arms over his chest and practically yelling, “Where have you been???” It hadn’t even been three days, but Cloud had still forgotten how loud his red-headed roommate could be. To be honest, with everything that had happened, he had completely forgotten that the three of his roommates even existed. Not that he would share that little tidbit with them now. “We thought you were dead!”

“Dead?”

Logan lays a hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention to the other teen’s serious expression. “The President summoned all of us to the auditorium yesterday to remind us of Shinra’s zero-tolerance policy when it comes to assault and then described the – er – rather _graphic_ punishments reserved for any offenders.”

“He had the Turks there to help demonstrate, too.” Colin adds, looking around nervously as if to make sure none of the Turks in question were there, before nearly whispering, “Reno is _absolutely_ terrifying.”

Logan shakes his head at the interruption, but doesn’t contradict the blond. “Johnson wasn’t there and you were missing, so we thought…” The teen sighs, pain flickering through his eyes. “We thought he had killed you.”

“He… J-Johnson…” Cloud sighs frustrated – would he ever be able to talk about the bully normally again?? Running a (slightly shaky) hand through his hair, he tries again. “J-Johnson and some of his friends ambushed me the other day and t-tried to force themselves on me.” The end is said as a near whisper, his voice (and nerves) giving out on him.

Several moments pass in silence as Cloud’s roommates process, their expressions shifting rapidly from concern to horror. Logan speaks first, his furious “ _What?_ ” a complete contrast to Colin’s following squeak of “Y-you mean rape??” Cloud’s grim nod in response is enough to pull Garrett out of his shock, the teen’s uncharacteristically soft voice doing nothing to conceal the murderous edge. “ _Where is he?”_

“They’re being sent to Corel Prison.” Zack answers for him, the teen slinging a comforting arm over his shoulders. “And they’ll never find work with Shinra again. The President’s made sure of it.”

“What?”

Cloud’s surprise is ignored, Colin coming to his defense, voice surprisingly predatorial. “You know, Garrett. I think I have some distant relatives in Corel. Maybe we should visit.”

“Guys. No, you can’t…”

Garrett’s eyes light up, a pleased noise passing his lips. “Oh! Excellent idea. I would _love_ to meet your family, dude.” Logan, the usually level-headed one of their group, is no more help, offering a simple, “I’m up for it.”

Before Cloud can protest again, regardless of how unsuccessful, Zack drops his head, shaking it in his amusement. “Oh, man. You three are great! I can see why Cloudy likes you!” Lifting his head again, there’s still a twinkle in his eyes as he pretends to be the voice of reason. “But as the responsible SOLDIER that I am – ” Cloud bites the inside of his cheek harder than necessary to keep from saying anything “ – I have to advise against doing anything reckless. You’ll just get yourselves into trouble.” The wink he throws them belies the serious air he had adopted. “Don’t worry, though. The President has already warned them that if they so much as look at Cloud in the wrong way again that they’ll disappear.”

Cloud doesn’t think his eyes can get any wider as he tries to make sense of this new information. He knows he shouldn’t be confused after everything that’s happened so far, but why him? Minus the 1sts, what’s so special about him?

“I guess that’ll have to do.” Returning his attention to Cloud, Garrett must not notice his inner turmoil as he asks, “But why didn’t you tell us, man? You know we would have had your back.”

“For what it’s worth, he didn’t actually tell anybody.” There goes Zack, answering for him again. “He just ran. We spent the entire day looking for him. Didn’t find out until today that his PHS is dead.”

“I… sorry.” His weak apology is met with a “Not mad at you, bud,” Zack squeezing his shoulder. Shrugging, Cloud’s answer for Garrett is equally pathetic. “I didn’t want to get anybody involved. …Didn’t think anybody would want to be involved.”

Colin shakes his head, eyes sad. “We’re your friends, Cloud. We’re already involved.” Cloud opens his mouth, but Colin doesn’t give him a chance to say anything. “Hey, don’t apologize – we _want_ to be involved. We’ve been really worried about you.”

“Sorry…”

“This is what I was talking about,” Logan says to their roommates before coming to stand in front of Cloud. “Cloud, you’ve been doubting yourself more ever since you became Sephiroth’s student, haven’t you?”

“I…”

“It’s because you don’t think you’re good enough, isn’t it? You’ve never liked making mistakes, never enjoyed feeling like a failure, but I bet all of that is just amplified by a million now. You don’t think you’re worthy of Sephiroth’s attention, so whenever you make even the smallest of mistakes, you think you’re just a waste of space. Am I right?”

“I… I guess…”

The arm around him tightens at his concession, the heat of Zack’s hand almost too much for him now, but the teen remains silent as Garrett chimes in. “Dude, you’re worth it. If you don’t believe in yourself, then believe in me.” Garrett pokes a thumb into his chest. “Have I ever led you astray?”

“Yes,” Cloud deadpans. “Multiple times. Like when you insisted Blugus were weak to fire. My teacher still won’t let me live that one down – _Remember, Strife, Blugus are weak to lightning… not fire._ ” As if he would forget after the initial humiliation.

“Come on, man, that was once!”

“What about when you claimed that that one alleyway was a shortcut to Sector 3? It took us an extra hour to get there and only cause we turned around halfway through and went back the way we came.”

“Ok, ok! I get the picture!” Garrett throws his hands up in a sign of surrender. “Ok, fine. Believe in Colin or Logan, then.”

Cloud huffs out a sigh – he’s sure Garrett won’t give up on this. “I’ll try.”

“Good.”

Cloud tries to return Garrett’s smile, he really does, but the emotional rollercoaster of the past couple days coupled with the massive shock at finding Tifa in Midgar seem to be too much already. Luckily, Zack saves him from any further awkwardness, the teen addressing Cloud’s roommates once more. “I’m glad Cloudy has the three of you around.” Zack hums in thought for a second, his head tilting to the side. “You know, I don’t think I ever caught your names.” Cloud keeps the _that’s cause you only had eyes for me_ to himself. The teen wasn’t exactly subtle about it. “I’m Zack.”

“Oh, we know who you are.” Garrett chuckles. “I’m Garrett, the studious-looking one with brown hair is Logan, and the blond who can’t pass for a Chocobo is Colin.” Garrett ignores Cloud’s glare as he finishes introducing them.

“Nice to finally make your acquaintance!”

Tifa enters his vision as she shuffles over to them, rubbing an arm and looking a touch embarrassed. “Sorry about earlier. I’m Tifa, by the way.”

“ _The_ Tifa?” Colin splutters out, shocked. “From Nibelheim?”

“Uh, that would be me.”

Garrett smirks and Cloud just knows he’s in for it. “It’s wonderful to finally have a face to a name. Cloud has told us _so_ much about you.”

Tifa looks far too amused for Cloud’s liking as he squeaks out “G-Garrett!”, his face turning a wonderful shade of scarlet. Alright, that’s it. He wants to die. It couldn’t be any worse than this.

“And I’m Aerith!” Their other companion bounces up, hopefully distracting Tifa enough that the girl will forget that this conversation had ever happened. “Zack’s girlfriend!”

Garrett’s mouth falls opens at the admission, the teen’s gaze flickering between Aerith, Zack, and Cloud as if trying to solve some sort of complex calculus. Cloud’s just worrying that Aerith has broken his roommate, when Garrett’s eyes finally stop on him, the teen running a hand through his red hair stunned. “Huh, so you’re not…” He says, pointing between Cloud and Zack, before his hand falls limp to his side. “Interesting…”

“ _Garrett._ ”

Zack somehow, luckily, doesn’t seem to catch on – though the same can’t be said for Tifa or Aerith, unfortunately – the teen cocking his head to the side again. “Not entirely sure what you’re getting at, but whatever.” He shrugs his shoulders as if not interested in pressing the matter. Thank Gaia. Pointing a thumb behind him towards the train station, he continues, “We’re planning on exploring the plate some. Would you guys want to join us?”

“We would love to, but we’ve got class,” Logan replies, though Cloud’s roommates look like they’re seriously considering the consequences of skipping. “We already skipped lunch to look for Cloud.”

“Aww, you three are honestly the best! Ok, new plan. Next time you guys are free, we all need to hang out!”

* * *

“I plan to tell Cloud the truth.”

The first words out of Rufus’s mouth after Barret and Cid have finally taken off do a far better job of knocking the breath out of Sephiroth than the ire of the former gunman and the child martial artist combined. Masking his shock just as quickly as it came on, his eyes narrow. “With all due respect, sir, we’ve been over this before. Telling him right now could be too much for him. It would be better to let him remember on his own.”

“No, General. We’ve tried it your way for the past two months with no significant results. We do it my way now.”

“But he’s starting to remember, sir!”

Sephiroth is not proud of the change in volume of his protests, but Rufus must not be in a manipulative mood since he doesn’t comment. Instead, the President waves a hand to silence him. “Unfortunately, we are out of time. As I mentioned before, General, somebody wants you dead. It would be extremely foolish to go after you directly. And with how skilled this assassin is at remaining undetected, I would hazard he knows this as well.” Eyes boring into him, Rufus laces his fingers on the desk in front of him. “No, if he is as cunning as he appears to be, he will go for Cloud first.”

“Sir?”

“Are you aware of your little fanclub, Sephiroth?” Rufus doesn’t wait for him to respond, though, likely already knowing the answer – how could Sephiroth not be aware? “Well, they have been going absolutely crazy over your ‘darling new student’.” Rufus says, quoting the end with the dryness of the Corel Desert. “There is no shortage of pictures or crazy theories – like Cloud being the secret lovechild of you and Genesis.” Rufus smirks – maybe he was in a manipulative mood after all – and Sephiroth tries to brace for whatever’s on the other side of that smug face. “Regardless, it’s clear to anyone with eyes that Cloud is your weakness.”

* * *

The rapid, almost frantic knocking at his door drags Sephiroth’s attention away from the book he was trying – and failing – to read. He supposes the distraction might do him good, he hadn’t been able to make it past the first sentence with Rufus’s and Ms. Lockhart’s words repeating themselves unsolicited in his head. Was he just using Cloud? Hadn’t he made him suffer enough? …Was he really Sephiroth’s weakness?

Shaking the maudlin thoughts from his mind, he pulls the door open to find Zack on the other side. The teen’s nervous fidgeting stops immediately as his eyes land on Sephiroth, Zack squinting at him in surprise. “I keep forgetting how much smaller you look without the armor.”

Sephiroth sighs. Perhaps he wasn’t in the mood for company after all. “Did you need something, Zackary?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s about Cloud.”

Sephiroth tries to mask his growing alarm. Had the assassin acted already? “Is he alright?”

“Yeah, he’s fine! He’s back with his roommates now.” Zack rubs the back of his neck, looking rather uncomfortable with the situation. Well, at least Sephiroth wasn’t the only one. “Can I come in?”

The moment the teen crosses the threshold and the door closes, Zack turns to him, arms crossed in front of him. “What are your intentions towards Cloud?”

Sephiroth blinks uncomprehending at his fellow SOLDIER – hadn’t they been over this before? Answering slowly, he really hopes that Zack hadn’t hit his head somewhere and suffered serious brain damage. “I’m training him so he’ll be ready in case I succumb to Jenova again. But you already knew this, Zack.”

“Not what I’m talking about.” Zack grumbles, pacing back and forth in front of Sephiroth as if trying to find his words. Once successful, the teen comes to a stop and confronts him once more. “Cloud is 14, you know. He’s still underage. You can’t make any moves on him until he’s an adult. And he remembers. Oh! And he definitely has to consent, too!”

Sephiroth groans, one eye twitching for good measure. Not this again. “Please not you, too, Zack. I’ve already gotten this talk from Angeal **and** Genesis.” He really hopes this isn’t how Angeal had felt after talking to him all those weeks ago. If it was, he really owed the man an apology.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You are talking about my apparent crush on Cloud, right?”

Zack’s eyes go wide as saucers and the teen chuckles a little awkwardly. “Oh, yeah. _Your_ crush. That’s definitely what I’m talking about.”

Sephiroth raises an eyebrow at the teen, but otherwise doesn’t delve further into his awkward display. They don’t have time for that now. “If it makes you feel better, I’m attracted to what I remember of Cloud as an adult, not to his 14-year-old self.”

“Oh. Good, good… Wait. You already talked to Angeal **and** Genesis about this??”

“Not now, Zack. We have far more pressing matters.”

“No, no, no, no, no, no,” barrels out of Zack’s mouth, the teen wagging a finger at him. “You’re not going to distract me so easily, mister.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sephiroth is really starting to regret having opened his door in the first place. Reading the same line a thousand times while plagued with the accusations thrown at him would have been far more enjoyable than this. “Zackary. Somebody is trying to kill me.”

Zack stops in place instantly, staring up at him confused, head cocked to the side like the puppy he claims he isn’t. “And… your point?”

“This would-be assassin is apparently very skilled – he’s evaded detection so far.” Crossing his arms in front of him, he prepares for Zack’s reaction. He’s knows the teen won’t like what he says next. “Rufus is convinced they’ll come for Cloud first.”

Turning white as a sheet, Zack stares at him horrified. “What? Why Spike?”

“Rufus claims he’s my weakness.”

“Your weakness?” Zack squeaks. Sephiroth only feels slightly vindicated – apparently it wasn’t clear to everybody with eyes.

“I asked that, too. But Rufus just smirked and called me a ‘poor bastard’.”

Zack’s face scrunches up, the teen seemingly trying to come up with a solution. “Shouldn’t we tell Cloud’s old friends? I’m sure they’d help out.”

“That was my next question. And that’s when Rufus laughed at me.” He had almost thought that the prickling in his chest and the curling of his lip was Jenova again, but then realized that, no, that was just normal aggravation. “To quote him, ‘Barret isn’t subtle on a good day. We can’t have whoever it is catching wind that we’re aware of their plan.’”

“Then what do we do? How do we keep Spikey safe?”

Sephiroth hesitates for a long moment, Zack tensing at the sight of his deepening frown. “Rufus plans to tell Cloud the truth.”

“What…? No, that’s a terrible idea!”

“Yes, I know.” Oh, boy, did he know. But Rufus wouldn’t hear him, not so kindly reminding him that he had no room to talk about terrible ideas. “Rufus says he can’t have a Turk tailing Cloud everywhere and that he can’t have Cloud fleeing the Tower every time something spooks him.”

“But he had good reason to run away!”

“I am aware, but him fleeing the Tower again to Gaia-knows-where will make it all the more easier for this assassin to get their hands on him.”

“But will Cloud even believe us?”

Sephiroth sighs long and hard. That’s what he’s worried about. “I don’t know. I tried to change Rufus’s mind, but he wouldn’t listen.” _That’s enough, General. My word is final._ Sephiroth had almost forgotten how infuriating it could be to answer to somebody else. He will admit, though, that he much prefers Rufus to his idiotic predecessor. And _vastly_ prefers Rufus to Jenova… “He seems convinced that if Cloud finally gets his memories back, that’ll he’ll be better able to protect himself if this assassin does come for him, even unenhanced as Cloud currently is.”

“Do you really think telling him the truth will trigger his memories?”

“I don’t know… but I have my doubts.”

“When will Rufus talk to him?”

“Tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- While I think Tifa and Cloud or Tifa and Aerith (or all three 😉) would be cute together, I will go down with the Tifa/Rude ship.  
> \- For those of you who haven't played the Remake, there's a part in the train graveyard where Tifa, Aerith, and Cloud are about to enter this maintenance facility and all are a little spooked out about the rather ghostly things happening around them. Well, Aerith's all like "everything will be fine, we've got a bodyguard" and clings to one of Cloud's arms. Not to be left out, Tifa grabs his other arm and is like "after you". So, that's why Cloud thinks they're heading towards a haunted graveyard.  
> \- Now that I have ESO on the brain, funny story: I spent like a good 2 minutes trying to defeat an enemy in the first dungeon, was hiding in an alcove shooting at them and everything, wondering why their health bar wasn't appearing/going down, only to realize that it was another player and I just don't understand how MMOs work... (This is my first MMO)


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made things worse! I'm sorry!!! 😭
> 
> I think I've also just set the tone for this chapter...

“Thank you for joining us, Cadet Strife.”

Not trusting his voice with the nerves trying to eat him alive, Cloud can only manage a squeak and a small nod in President Rufus’s direction. He knows Sephiroth had assured him he wasn’t in trouble, had even offered a parting “Everything’s fine” as he guided Cloud to a chair, the man’s gloved hand entirely too hot against his shoulder. But as he glances anxiously around the table, the troubled looks that greet him certainly do nothing to keep the doubt at bay. Even Reno looks uncomfortable, and Cloud just knows there’s something wrong with that.

He looks to Zack for reassurance, but when the teen won’t even meet his eyes, face downcast, Cloud just knows things are bad. Unable to control the anxiety now, he really hopes that the table hides the way his hands tremble in his lap as he croaks out. “A-Am I in trouble, s-sir?”

The President grimaces, though over what Cloud has no idea. “Not at all. I merely asked you here to talk.”

“About what, M-Mr. President?”

“The truth.”

.

.

.

Reeling.

Cloud’s pretty sure that’s the word he wants to describe this light-headed, confused feeling of his. Was the President serious? Were they all serious? This was insanity. Complete, utter insanity. Was he seriously supposed to believe that he had killed Sephiroth – _the_ Sephiroth – as just an infantryman? In the future? He’s sure his face must be quite the sight as his brain tries to catch up. “So… you’re saying I’m a clone of Sephiroth?” Cloud sounds out the words carefully, still not entirely believing that they were coming from his mouth.

The “Used to be, yo!” goes completely over his head as the President replies, a hint of amusement on his aristocratic face, “A failed one, yes.”

His entire body still processing – and failing spectacularly – Cloud really hopes the expression on his face doesn’t telegraph exactly how much of a nutcase he thinks the President is, how much of a nutcase he thinks _everybody_ is, but this just makes _absolutely_ no sense. They didn’t honestly believe this, did they? But as he looks around the room desperately, he finds no support, Sephiroth and the Commanders hidden behind unreadable masks, Zack’s expression unnervingly uneasy. “But… I look nothing like Sephiroth.”

“Hence the ‘failed’ part.” A smirk splits the President’s face, the man appearing to be enjoying this far too much.

Wait. That smirk.

_You loser! Why would we want to be friends with you?!_

Once more, he finds himself soaking wet on the bathroom floor, Johnson sneering down at him, Cloud unable to blame the toilet water for the shine to his eyes.

That’s right. That’s the exact same look Johnson had worn their first week of training when he had insisted that he and Cloud would be the best of friends. The same look that had remained caked on the teen’s face as he and his friends dragged Cloud into the nearest bathroom stall and flushed his head in the toilet.

He had thought things would be different here. And he had been so desperate for even one friend that he had foolishly clung to Johnson’s every word – _Wow, you’re really good with a sword. You’re so amazing. Wanna hang out sometime?_ Ironically, he _had_ made friends that day, but not in the conventional way. His roommates – who up until then had been unsure of how quiet and antisocial he was – had taken one look at his drenched self and had unanimously decided that he was worth knowing. Why, though, he still hasn’t figured that one out.

But that betrayal – Johnson’s betrayal – pales in comparison to this one.

And that’s what this is, isn’t it? A betrayal. He should have known, should have realized that it was too good to be true. Sephiroth, Zack, _everything_. But now – now everything makes sense. All the words of encouragement, all the _don’t you remember me_ ’s, all the uncomfortable looks around the table as the President started weaving his fanciful, fanciful tale.

The little voice in him tries to convince him he’s overreacting, but it’s far too late for that – the cold has already started to set in. He knows that this betrayal will really hurt later on, but right now he’s just too numb. Everything with Johnson, everything in Nibelheim had already proven that Cloud couldn’t trust anybody. If only he could stop being so naïve.

“So that’s what this is.” The concerned trio of _Cloud?, Spikey?, Little bird?_ only half make it through the fog as he lets out a bitter laugh. “I thought Midgar would be different than Nibelheim. But, well – _ha!_ – I’m usually wrong.”

His hands shake from where they’re pressed on the table – he’s not sure when he had stood up – but at least he’s not crying. He had promised himself after the toilet fiasco that he would never cry in front of a bully again. Taking a deep, albeit unsteady, breath, he sets his resolve before turning to the President, his chin raised defiantly. “Mr. President, I formally tender my resignation.”

He doesn’t miss the collective gasp around the room, but he only has eyes for the President. The President who returns Cloud’s defiant look with an almost bored one of his own. “Oh?”

“I quit.”

The smug look is back as President Rufus shuts him down. “You can’t quit. I own you.”

Anger builds in his stomach, the words _Ex-SOLDIER. I quit._ on the tip of his tongue. But Zack is at his side in a second, the once calming hand on his shoulder now unbearable. “Mr. President, I’m going to take Cloud back to his room. Some time to think things through will be good for him.”

“Very well.” The President nods shallowly, still watching Cloud. “Cadet Strife, you are not allowed to leave the Tower. Do I make myself clear?”

“What??”

“Yup! Very clear!” Zack answers over him, tugging Cloud towards the door. “C’mon, Spike.”

As they leave, Cloud doesn’t miss Sephiroth’s “Rufus! This is what I was talking about!” Nor does his miss the pain that flashes through Zack’s eyes as he shrugs the teen’s hand off, curling in on himself.

* * *

“Cloud, _please_. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Cloud thought ignoring the teen the entire way back to the cadet dorms would have been enough, but apparently Zack didn’t get the message. He’s just glad nobody was around to see the SOLDIER force his way into Cloud’s room – he really can’t handle more gossip about them now. Well, if silence didn’t work, perhaps flat-out denial would. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Zack.”

“What did you mean by thinking Midgar would be different from Nibelheim?” Zack stands in front of the closed door, blocking Cloud’s only retreat, hands on his hips. Cloud finds that his only recourse left is staring at the metal floor, hoping that not answering this time around would be enough. But he’s not that lucky. “I’m not leaving til you tell me, Cloud.”

Cloud practically growls, tugging at his hair in frustration. “You already know that I didn’t have any friends in Nibelheim. I was already used to the kids there pretending like they wanted to be my friend only to have it turn out to be a cruel prank. Heck, it even happened with Johnson, but I figured that was just because he was… well, Johnson. I just didn’t think t-that…” Voice breaking, he finds himself unable to finish the rest of his sentence.

But Zack seems to understand anyway, too-hot hands lifting Cloud’s face up to see the horrified look on Zack’s own. “No. _No_. That’s not what this is,” Zack vehemently denies. “I _swear_. You’re my best friend, Cloud. You’ve always been my best friend.”

Cloud huffs out his own denial. “We’ve only known each other for two months, Zack.”

Zack apparently doesn’t agree, the teen shaking his head forcefully, his hands still on Cloud’s face. “No, we haven’t. You just don’t remember yet.”

“Because of time travel?? You know how crazy that sounds, right??”

“But it’s the truth!” Zack groans, dropping his head as if to rest his forehead against Cloud’s. When Cloud tenses in his hold, though, he seems to think better of it, straightening back up, a hurt look on his face. “Come on, you can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed anything strange! Weird feelings or sensations, things that just seem out of place…”

“Zack…”

“What about that dream?” Zack looks like he has just won the jackpot at the uncertain look on Cloud’s face. “You know, the one in Hojo’s lab. That wasn’t a dream. I was there with you, Spike. In the mako tank next to you.”

Something about that just sounds _so_ familiar, Cloud almost able to make out _‘Feeding Time’… that’s our chance!_ scratched into glass. But he won’t fall for it, it has to be his mind conjuring things up to match the teen’s story – he doesn’t want to lose Zack. Though, he supposes he already has. “I want to believe you, Zack, but I can’t…”

“Please, Cloudy…”

“I-I just… I just want to be alone,” he confesses, staring anywhere but at Zack, unable to drop his gaze to the floor with Zack’s (slightly trembling) hands still on his face.

Zack lets out a shaky breath, but doesn’t deny him. “…Ok. If that’s what you want, buddy.” The teen’s thumbs smooth a trail underneath Cloud’s eyes, wiping away nonexistent tears – he had fortunately been successful at not crying in front of the other so far – instantly drawing Cloud’s attention back to Zack’s worried face. No wonder he had such a hard time when it came to Zack. The teen was really good at this acting thing, apparently. “But don’t leave your room, ok?”

Resisting the urge to cross his arms in front of himself petulantly (protectively?), Cloud sighs exasperated. “Am I seriously under house arrest?”

“ _Please_ , Cloud,” Zack practically whines, worry turning to distress. “Somebody wants Sephiroth dead and they may come after you first.”

Cloud scoffs, barely stopping himself from rolling his eyes. “Right.”

“Have you not seen Sephiroth’s fanclub? There are all kinds of photos and posts of the two of you.” Zack looks close to begging. “It’s open to the public and the President thinks if this assassin has access to it, he’ll know that you’re Sephiroth’s weakness.”

Cloud’s sure his face cycles through a hundred different emotions at that revelation – shock, fear, confusion, disbelief, _suspicion_ – before shuttering completely. Him, Sephiroth’s weakness? That was certainly a tactic he never saw coming. “This isn’t funny, Zack.”

“It’s not a joke! _Gaia_!” Zack yells, hands dropping from Cloud’s face as if burned, the teen’s own eyes wild. The change in Zack is immediate, though, when he notices how Cloud shrinks away from him. Deflating instantly, Zack’s voice is weak when he apologizes. “Sorry for yelling… I’m just so _scared_ that something will happen to you, Cloud. That you’ll get hurt and I won’t be there to protect you…again.”

Cloud sniffs and finally does wrap his arms around himself. “Ok…”

“Ok?”

“I won’t go anywhere.”

Sagging with apparent relief, Zack lets out a shaky breath. “That’s… That’s great. Thank you, Spike.” Zack runs a hand through his own hair, all nervous energy. “I… I know you don’t believe me and I know how crazy being from the future sounds, but I swear it’s all true. Just think about it, please.” Cloud can only offer a grunt in response, his arms tightening around himself. “Can I come back in a few hours?”

“O-ok.”

“Great.” Zack goes to leave, but pauses, hand on the doorknob, as he turns worried eyes back to Cloud. “If you hear or see anything weird – anything at all – call me, ok?”

“…Ok.”

Finally alone, Cloud throws himself on his bed – totally not like a damsel in distress – and sobs. He wants to believe Zack. _Gaia_ , he wants to believe him _so_ much, but Zack was just so perfect. Too perfect. He had learned the hard way that good things like this never happen to him. But why did it take him so long to figure it out this time?

* * *

“Uh… Tifa. Who’s the scary-looking man waiting at the town gate?”

“Shit!” Tifa swears when she sees the red headband and brown tassel vest. Even from the bridge of Cid’s airship, she knows exactly who that is. She had hoped her letter would be enough. Apparently not. “That’s my dad.”

Barret, the self-imposed leader of their ragtag group, raves as they descend the airship. “I thought you said he knew where you were going!” Not waiting for more than a shrug in return, he approaches her father first, trying to make friendly. Tifa just hopes that Barret’s size will serve as enough intimidation for the man to hear him out. “Mr. Lockhart, I am so sorry. We thought you knew – “

_Thwack!_

If the sound of cartilage cracking isn’t enough to tell Tifa that her father had broken Barret’s nose, then the man groaning on the ground, holding his bleeding face definitely is. Her father hovers over the downed man, fist still raised, body shaking with rage. “What did you do to my daughter?!”

“Dad! Calm down!” Throwing herself in between the two, Tifa stretches her arms out to the side, hoping that that will be enough to appease her father.

It isn’t.

Her father turns the full force of his ire to her, his face and neck splotched with red. “As for you, young lady. You are in _sooo_ much trouble. Leaving for Gaia-knows-where in the middle of the night with two strange men, only a note saying you would be back in a couple of days to let me know that you had gone anywhere? You’ll be lucky if you aren’t grounded for the rest of your life!”

“But I told you my friend needed me!” She resists the urge to roll her eyes (or stomp her foot again) – that seriously would not help soothe her father now.

“Oh? And just who was this friend?”

Tifa takes a deep breath and tries to brace for the fallout. Even with how she has tried to sway her dad’s opinion of Cloud, she knows he won’t be happy – he still wasn’t entirely convinced that the Mt. Nibel thing wasn’t all Cloud’s fault. “Cloud.”

Eyes flashing, her father’s face turns a worrying shade of purple. “Cloud?? You traveled to a different continent to see that _boy_??”

“Yes, dad.” While she isn’t entirely successfully at keeping all the exasperation out of her tone, she luckily refrains from continuing with ‘Keep with the program’ like she wants to. Voice dropping to a near whisper, she makes sure nobody else can hear her before continuing, “Some cadets in his program tried to rape him. He needed me, dad.”

A horrified look crosses over her father’s face, the man struggling with his thoughts for a second. His show of empathy is somewhat encouraging – at least he doesn’t hate Cloud _that_ much. “While I’m sorry that happened to him… you did not need to go all that way to console him.”

Tifa scoffs. Of course she did. “Everybody here treats Cloud like a freaking pariah since my fall.” She ignores her father scolding her for her language, her eyes steel as she continues, “He doesn’t exactly have many friends nor the confidence to make any after everything we all put him through. He. _needed_. me.”

“He shouldn’t have told you to climb Mt. Nibel!”

She finally does stomp her foot this time, her eyes flashing. Did he not even listen to a word she had said before? “I. told. you. It was all _my_ idea. I thought if I climbed Mt. Nibel, I would be able to see mom again.” Choking on her words at the thought of her dearly-missed mother, she scrubs the tears away with the back of her hand. “Cloud only followed to make sure I was ok. He tried to save me when I fell, but he fell too.”

Her father looks unimpressed and she just knows that he still doesn’t believe her. “All the other kids said that Cloud goaded you into it. Are you saying that they’re all lying?”

“Of course they’re lying! They didn’t want to get into trouble and they never liked Cloud in the first place. They all thought me climbing Mt. Nibel was a great idea until we got to the base of the mountain, then they chickened out. Cloud wasn’t even invited, but he was the only one brave enough to follow me. And this is the thanks he gets.” She can’t help the little scoff that passes her lips. Why would her dad believe kids like _Butch_ over her?

“Right.” Tifa feels her hackles rise at the amount of disbelief in that one word. “Why, pray tell, did you wait so long to tell me?”

“I tried telling you a few weeks ago, but you wouldn’t listen to me. Before that, I didn’t exactly remember what happened. I mean, I _was_ in a coma for days after that fall.”

“And now, all of a sudden, you remember with startling clarity everything that happened.”

Tifa wishes she was an adult again. She would totally take killing Behemoths with her bare hands over this. Any day. “Yes. I do. Which is why I’m telling you now.”

“Well, why didn’t Cloud say anything?”

“Because he’s always blamed himself for me getting hurt. Always thought that if he had been just a little bit faster, that it never would have happened. That he would have caught me, rather than fall with me. It’s the entire reason he went to Midgar to become a SOLDIER in the first place.” As she finally does roll her eyes, she can’t help the feeling of liberation at the surprised look on her father’s face – though whether from her (totally justified) attitude or the revelation she just sprung on him, she doesn’t know.

As if knowing he had hit a wall, her father sighs and runs a hand down his face. “Why didn’t you just ask me to take you to Midgar then? If it meant so much to you.”

“Because you don’t exactly like Cloud and Cid’s airship is faster.”

Her words finally remind her father of her companions, the man’s anger back as he turns to Barret and Cid again. “How do you even know them??”

“They’re my friends.”

A vein on his forehead pops as his eye twitches, her answer apparently doing little to appease him. “Friends?” His voice is low, dangerous, like he’s holding himself back from attacking again. Barret raises his hands in front of him warily, as if trying to calm the man. Either that, or to protect his newly-healed nose – probably fixed with the help of Cid, though blood still stains Barret’s face. “Just who are you two? And what have you done to my daughter?”

“What? Dad, they haven’t done anything!”

Her father raises an eyebrow, entirely unimpressed. “Oh? Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you’ve changed, young lady. One day you’re still the same cheerful, carefree little girl, and then the next it’s like you’ve seen war. Like you've been to hell and back. You hardly smile anymore and don’t even get me started on these nightmares you keep having.”

“I…”

Tifa’s not really sure what she wants to say, but her dad has already turned back to her companions, arms crossed stiffly in front of him. “Now, I won’t ask again. What have you done to my daughter? And you better answer quick before I have you locked away for the rest of your lives.”

Cid has only managed to readjust the goggles on his head and offer a weak, “Now, Mr. Lockhart…” when Tifa cuts him off. “Dad. You’re causing a scene.” Holding up a hand to stop the stereotypical _I’ll show you a scene_ , she pleads with him, “Please, can we take this inside? I swear I’ll tell you everything.”

* * *

“So… you’re saying you’re from the future.” From the way her dad stumbles to the coffee pot and pours himself a cup, Tifa can tell he’s still processing.

“Yes.”

Dropping unceremoniously into his seat, her father still looks stunned as he sips at his coffee listlessly. “And some… alien made Sephiroth – _the_ Sephiroth – try to destroy the world and only Cloud could ever beat him? And you and your… _friends_ here fought alongside him?”

She doesn’t like the way he stressed ‘friends’, like it was some sort of joke, but she’ll let it slide this time. “Yes.”

Barret and Cid sit across from them, cautiously quiet as her father tries to absorb the information. “I have no idea what to make of this…” Her father groans and downs the rest of his coffee in one large gulp.

Tifa sighs – coffee isn’t what he needs right now. “Dad, that won’t help. Give me a sec.” And she’s out of her chair with a quick hop before she can think things through. Rummaging through the cabinets, she’s not surprised that he doesn’t have exactly what she needs, but she knows how to improvise. Vodka, tequila, orange, cranberry, and lime juice – that should do it. Dumping everything into a glass jar she found in another cabinet, she reattaches the lid and shakes her concoction, resisting the urge to throw it high in the air to show off. Straining it into a tumbler, she sets the ruby red liquid in front of her dad with a soft, “There, _Cosmo Canyon_.”

It’s not until she sits back down and sees the pinched looks on Barret’s and Cid’s faces and the entirely horrified one on her father’s that she realizes a 14-year-old probably shouldn’t know how to make a cocktail. Whoops.

The calm before the storm lasts for only a few seconds, and then her father stands abruptly, his chair knocked violently to the floor. “WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN TEACHING MY DAUGHER?!?” he bellows at Barret and Cid, that unhealthy purple tinge back to his cheeks.

Tifa’s out of her seat in a second, too, hands on her hips as she scowls at her father. “You don’t believe me!”

“Time travel?? The war hero Sephiroth burning Nibelheim to the ground?? Of course I don’t believe it!”

She can’t hold back her growl – she hates that he would believe Butch and the other kids about Cloud over his own daughter. Hates that he would allow his suspicions to cloud his judgement – pun _very_ much intended – so much so that he wouldn’t give any of her friends a chance. Well, drastic times and drastic measures. “Fine. I’ll prove it to you.”

* * *

“Well?”

Barret flounders at the expectant look Tifa throws his way. “Well what?”

“Well, do you want to be useful and break the lock for us?” She asks, gesturing to the front gate of Shinra Manor.

Grumbling, Barret pulls his gun from its holster – she still can’t quite get over the fact that it was no longer attached to his arm – and fires three quick shots into the lock, the fixture falling to the ground destroyed. They would need to find a new lock when they were done – they can’t let anybody else wander in there. “You sure are bossy…”

As Tifa reaches for the door to the manor, her father finally manages to work past his alarm. “Tifa, there are monsters in there.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t really bother me,” she replies nonchalantly, casually flinging the door open. Like the first time she had entered the manor all those years ago, she comes to a complete and utter stop when she enters the foyer. But not for the same reasons as that time. No, this time because the manor doesn’t have the same overwhelming, ominous aura to it, though she’s not sure if that’s because she’s older (mentally) or because the horrors she had witnessed haven’t technically come to pass yet.

As she crosses the foyer and approaches the stairwell, a snarl is the only warning she has before a Wererat launches itself at her from the shadowy recesses of the room. Her father only has time to cry “Tifa!” before she has quickly, efficiently, and perhaps a little violently roundhouse-kicked the monster – “Don’t mess with me!” – sending it flying across the foyer and crashing into the balustrade. She watches annoyed as it collapses to the floor, motionless – it really should have known better than to bother her right now – before turning to her unsurprisingly disturbed father. “See? Nothing to worry about.”

Her words do little to ease his concerns, though, her father staring horrified at her as if she had just sprouted an extra head. Barret and Cid seem equally troubled by the display, Barret taking a cautious step forward before remarking, “You’re scary as a child.”

Tifa scoffs and raises an eyebrow at him – he really had no room to talk with how easily riled up he normally was. “You watched me scream in Sephiroth’s face and this is what you can’t handle?”

“T’ be fair, kiddo, that’s not the first time we’ve seen you hollerin’ at Girlylocks.”

Tifa can’t help but chuckle at Cid’s choice of nickname – she’d have to remember that one – as she steps coolly over the downed monster and continues up to the second floor, not even bothering to worry about the creaking stairs. If they held her adult weight years in the future (past?), they wouldn’t have trouble with her 14-year-old self now.

Her father is thankfully still silent as she leads them effortlessly to the bedroom off the right – honestly, she could do it in her sleep, and frankly had whenever her nightmares reared their ugly heads, the ones where Tifa was always too slow to save Cloud from Hojo’s experimentation. Pressing the ‘hidden’ button with perhaps a little more force than necessary, the ‘secret’ entrance grinds open, revealing the spiraling staircase down to the basement. Honestly, she is almost a little offended to call it a secret entrance with how easily apparent it is – unless Hojo specifically designed it that way… If that’s the only reason Sephiroth ever found the labs, she swears she’ll go back in time again just to kill Hojo herself.

If there are any monsters in the basement, they wisely keep their distance, her father’s worried voice the only thing breaking the eerie silence as they make their way down the tunnel. “Tifa… We really shouldn’t be here.”

“Yeah, yeah. We won’t be here long.” Tifa tosses the door to Hojo’s lab open, waving to the machinery inside. “Here you go – your proof.” Her father makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat as she leads him to the large glass capsules against the wall. “These are the mako tanks that Cloud and Zack were left to rot in. Or would be, if Hojo was still alive this time around.” She then turns him to the rather obvious torture apparatus in the middle of the room. “That’s Hojo’s examination table.” Her wry look is met with an entirely horrified one when she turns to face her father. “I don’t think I need to explain what that’s for.”

“Good Gaia…”

Not giving her father time to digest, she drags him around the cursed machinery and leads him to the library in the back. “This is where Sephiroth went insane… would go insane, before burning Nibelheim to the ground.” Grabbing a book seemingly at random from the shelf to her left, she’s pleased to find it’s the exact one she was looking for – everything was still where she remembered it. “Here, dad. A bit of _light_ reading.”

He accepts the book with trembling hands, face ashen white as he begins to recite the words within. “…A lifeform in a state of s-suspended animation, excavated from a 2000-year-old stratum… named this lifeform J-Jenova??”

Nodding at her father’s questioning look, she re-explains. “They misidentified Jenova as an Ancient. Rufus’s father was obsessed with the idea of the Promised Land, thought that it contained unlimited mako and that only an Ancient could guide him there. So, he approved the experimentation.” Her father starts to turn green around the gills as she continues her tale. “They injected some of Jenova’s cellular material into unborn fetuses in an attempt to create a human-Ancient hybrid. Sephiroth was one of these unwilling experiments. But while he and the other children didn’t show signs of being able to communicate with the planet like an Ancient, they were stronger, faster, healed quicker than their regular human counterparts.”

“Y-you mean…”

Tifa nods again. “Yes. That was how the SOLDIER Project began. Now, they didn’t tell these children how they were enhanced. And Hojo… That bastard Hojo never told Sephiroth about his real mother, not even her name. Just told him that Jenova was his mother. And he specifically left all of this for Sephiroth to find. He wanted to know what Sephiroth would do if he found out the ‘truth’ – called it his final experiment.” Tifa shakes her head aggravated. “Except it wasn’t the truth and Hojo knew it! Most of the things in this room are lies to make Sephiroth think he’s a god, that Jenova’s an Ancient, and that humans were responsible for the Ancients’ demise.”

“You said Jenova was – is – an alien.”

“Yes. The Ancients referred to her as the Calamity from the Skies. She – _it_ – crash-landed on the planet 2000 years ago with the intention of destroying all life on Gaia. The Ancients managed to seal it away, but not before their numbers were drastically reduced.”

“And Sephiroth…”

“Came into contact with Jenova, found all of this, and went insane. Though I’m told the insane part was him being controlled by Jenova…” She still wasn’t entirely satisfied with that excuse – he’s the strongest man in the world and the one thing he can’t handle is a parasite? Admittedly, a giant-ass, alien parasite, but a parasite nonetheless.

Her father sags against the bookshelf, the book in his hand falling to the floor forgotten. He looks like he wants to throw up as he concedes, “You… you were telling the truth…”

Her answering smile is a little grim as she replies, “I wish I wasn’t.”

Before she even realizes what’s happening, she finds herself wrapped in her father’s arms, the man’s voice heartbroken as he whispers, “I’m _so_ sorry you had to go through all of that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I don't actually drink (I'm old enough to, I just choose not to), so hopefully the part where Tifa makes a cocktail made sense. I originally was going to have her make a regular cosmo, but I figured tequila would be something Mr. Lockhart would more likely have on hand than triple sec. I saw somebody on Youtube make their version of Cosmo Canyon with vodka, tequila, cranberry juice, lime juice, and the juice from a blood orange and it looked legit.  
> \- Originally, I was going to have Rufus ask Cloud if he knew why he was there. Cloud wouldn't know, but something about Rufus's face would just piss him off, so he would subconsciously reply "Cause you're a manipulative bastard." Then the color would drain from his face when he realized what he just said/how silent the room had gotten. But Rufus would just have raised an eyebrow and been like "Well, it's good to know that you're still in there somewhere." Not that Cloud would have any idea what that was supposed to mean. <\--- I was really tempted to add this in, but it didn't really flow with how the rest of the scene went, so I dropped it. I still wanted to share though.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!!  
> There is some vomiting in this chapter. I tried not to make it too graphic, but please keep this in mind while reading.

“I don’t want you getting involved again.”

As she extracts herself from his hold, the look Tifa sends her father is no doubt just as unimpressed as the one she had thrown Tseng. “Dad, I’m not going to sit around playing patty-cake while everybody else is off fighting Jenova.”

“But Tifa – ”

“No buts,” she interjects, hands on her hips, trying to ignore the thought that she would probably be much more intimidating if she was taller… and if her dad wasn’t currently kneeling on the floor, one hand out as if to console her. “I’m fighting and that’s final.”

“Tifa – ”

“Dad, I might be stuck in a child-size body right now, but I am a full-grown woman. I know what I’m doing. If Cloud’s fighting, then so am I.”

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, looking on the brink of giving in. “Cloud… You said he saved you from Sephiroth?”

“He saved me _so_ many times, Dad.” She’s definitely not telling him about the time with Don Corneo, though… “But, yeah, the first time was from Sephiroth. I might not have thought things through and ended up charging the man after he killed you.” Her father shudders at her words – Tifa figures the idea of being once-dead resurrected and of her nearly dying herself because of her grief must be equally unnerving. She definitely still has a hard time reconciling her past with her present, the sight of her alive-again father sometimes so overwhelming that she’s sure she’ll throw up. Gesturing vaguely to the lab equipment back the way they came, she elaborates, “Master Zangan got me out, but Cloud spent years being tortured by Hojo for finishing what I started and taking Sephiroth out.”

Her father stumbles, falling backwards onto his butt with a soft “oh…”. Burying his head into his hands, he sits that way for what feels like forever, not making a sound, before coming to a decision. “I really owe him an apology, don’t I?” He confesses, face still half-hidden behind his hands.

Tifa half-giggles, half-snorts. “Yeah, probably.”

“What I don’t really understand, though…” Her father drops his hands into his lap, his eyes now free to look at her properly. “How did you end up fighting alongside Cloud later? You said Sephiroth assassinated the President, but I can’t imagine they would have publicized that with what you said they did to Nibelheim.”

Coughing awkwardly into a fist in a near perfect imitation of Rude, she racks her brain for the best way to describe what happened without giving away too much. “We happened to be in the Tower at the same time trying to save a friend from Hojo.”

Even sprawled on the floor as he is, Tifa finds his raised eyebrow just as fidget-inducing as if he had been standing over her. “Just what are you hiding from me, young lady?”

“Well…” She throws a look Barret’s way, but he just shrugs unhelpfully – guess she’s on her own. “We… may have been considered terrorists.”

“Terrorists?”

She sucks in a breath through her teeth – this is what she was trying to avoid. “We might have blown up a mako reactor or two.”

Instead of ranting and raving like she half-expected, her father just groans as he buries his face in his hands again. “I don’t even know my own daughter anymore.”

* * *

Sephiroth can tell that things did not go well with Cloud when Zack returns to the conference room. The teen’s slumped shoulders and red-rimmed eyes were evidence enough. That doesn’t stop Angeal – though maybe he’s acting more in a mentor-capacity than missing the telltale signs of the teen’s grief. “How did things go?”

“Well, he promised not to go anywhere, but he doesn’t believe us.” Zack sniffs. “Doesn’t believe me.”

“Did you find out what he meant by Midgar not being different than Nibelheim?”

A pained look flashes across Zack’s face as he sighs. “He never had any friends in Nibelheim. Said he was used to them tricking him into believing they wanted to be his friends only for it to be a cruel prank.” Slamming a fist down on the table, he growls. “Apparently, Johnson did the same thing, too.”

The more he hears about this kid, the more Sephiroth wants to skewer him. But that wasn’t important right now – Cloud takes precedence. “And he believes we’re doing the same thing? That this is all some big prank?”

“Yeah…”

“Remind me,” Genesis drawls, an almost uninterested look on his face if not for the dangerous glint in his eyes. “Why aren’t we burning Nibelheim to the ground again?”

“Genesis.”

Cutting off Angeal’s half-hearted attempt at being the voice of reason, Zack grumbles, “Or killing Johnson?”

“Cause we’re better than that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Zack waves a hand dismissively and slumps onto the tabletop. “SOLDIER honor and all that…”

Before Angeal can lecture his former student over his bad manners, Sephiroth turns his attention to Rufus. “Mr. President, this is what we were trying to avoid.” That’s as close as he’ll get right now to outright accusing the man of being short-sighted.

Rufus leans back in his chair and runs a hand through his hair – a nervous habit Sephiroth never would have attributed to the President. “I’ll admit that was not the reaction I was expecting.” Sephiroth feels that’s as close as Rufus would get to an outright apology. “All we can hope for now is that it will help jog his memory.”

* * *

“’Bout time we made our escape, too.”

Even if Barret was being far more prudent than he was used to, Cloud finds he can’t agree with the man more. They had been in the Shinra Building for too long already. They could kiss their success and Aerith’s freedom goodbye if they lingered any longer. And nobody deserved Hojo’s undivided attention less than Aerith, especially with his plans to breed her like some lab rat.

As their ride descends towards them, Cloud can’t rid himself of his sense of foreboding – after everything that had happened that week and even that day, it just felt much too good to be true. And before he can think that maybe their bad luck was a thing of the past, before their rescue can make it even halfway to the helipad, it goes up in a ball of flame and smoke, no warning given to prepare themselves for the missile that took it out – as if its destruction was conjured by Cloud’s grim thoughts.

“Shit.” The sight of the Shinra-marked helicopter waiting in the shadows as the Avalanche one spirals out of control, 70 floors down to the ground, has Cloud moving before he even realizes it. They do not want to hang around for that. Especially if it was those Turks again – he had had enough of those assholes to last him a lifetime. Besides, he could practically feel Aerith’s dread, though she remained quiet, most likely trying not to get her hopes up for a Shinra (and Hojo)-free existence. But Cloud wasn’t having any of that – he had meant it when he promised her mother they would get her out of there.

They’re halfway to the door leading to the President’s office when the sound of feet hitting the helipad far sooner than he was prepared for has him turning around, Barret coming to a stop behind him. “If it ain’t Rufus Shinra. Heir to the throne himself.”

“Yep.”

The heir in question jumps boldly from the helicopter, the man the picture of overconfident arrogance as he signals for the helicopter to resume its aerial patrol, leaving him with only a few infantrymen and a guard dog as protection. The man’s all-white ensemble flutters around him and Cloud nearly snorts at the image – what was he wearing, a dress? He sobers quickly, though. It was no time for jokes and he had no room to talk, his traitorous mind reminding him that he had worn a real dress himself – corset, makeup, and all – not too long ago.

He shouldn’t have been surprised that Barret would try to rush them – the man never was one for the subtle approach – but it still takes him a second longer than he cares to admit to notice his companion’s advance. “Stop.” He orders, too late to throw out an arm to restrain the easily agitated man.

“Huh?” Barret spins around, not pleased with the demand at all, too aggravated to remember it generally wasn’t a good idea to turn your back to an enemy. “The hell I will! We can finish off the family here and now!”

They could – between the four of them and Red, it wouldn’t be hard to do. But they had no idea where that helicopter had disappeared to and they were running out of time. Laughably fast. With the alarms blaring, Heidegger was undoubtedly rounding up every last trooper in and around the building. They couldn’t afford to let Aerith fall into Shinra custody again. They all had intimate knowledge of just what their hospitality was like. “Take Aerith and get outta here. I’ll buy you guys some time.”

“I could stay here – back you up.”

Granted, the extra help would be nice – going from the insignia on their uniforms, the infantrymen were the best of the best, and the large, bluish-purple canine looks to be a nasty threat, no doubt enhanced with that glow to its red eyes, its head tentacle vibrating dangerously behind it. But Aerith takes top priority – she needs all the protection she can get. Besides, Cloud wasn’t a former 1st Class SOLDIER for nothing. He could handle a handful of infantrymen and some stuck-up, rich kid. “Barret… I’m asking you. Please.”

The larger man frowns and scratches the back of his head, irritated, but he doesn’t argue with him. Not anymore. “Fine. Have it your way then. But you better be right behind us.”

As his friends run off, he charges at the approaching troopers, leaping high into the air and bringing his sword down hard on the helipad, sending a blast of energy his enemies’ way. While the infantrymen try to recover from that simple attack – perhaps they weren’t the best after all – he swings his sword out to the side. They would have to go through him first if they wanted to get past.

Sauntering forward, loyal pet at his heels, Rufus places himself in front of his protection, not daunted in the slightest by Cloud’s show of strength – Cloud’s not sure whether the man was confident or just plain stupid. “You’re a SOLDIER, aren’t you?” Cloud doesn’t respond, but that doesn’t stop the golden heir, the man smirking as he looks at Cloud like just another tool to use and abuse. “Which, of course, would mean that I own you.”

Cloud scoffs – what a prick. Apparently, the rumors of a manipulative, pompous ass were right on the money. “Ex-SOLDIER. I quit.”

.

.

.

_We’re friends… right?_

Cloud curses his absolutely _useless_ body as it drags pitifully behind him, Cloud barely able to do so much as crawl his way around the boulder he had been propped against. He needs to find Zack, and fast. The shouting, cursing, and shooting had all stopped, the only sound left that of the rain. The rain that hits him, hits his heart, like a thousand needles as the seconds tick by with no sign nor sound of Zack – he can almost imagine the man making a Cactuar joke at that thought and that just pushes him faster. They say it only pours when something bad has happened, and he really hopes that doesn’t apply here.

Zack had promised that he wouldn’t leave Cloud behind, so that must mean that something had happened, right? He trusts Zack – with every fiber of his being – so his friend must need his help, right? Ignoring the dark little voices whispering that he would never be good enough to help Zack, that he was already too late, that he was too slow, Cloud summons whatever strength he has left in him to drag himself along the cold, wet rock.

Pushing himself up on weak-feeling arms, his heart nearly stops at the sight of the dark figure lying prone at the cliff’s edge. No, please no. Please just let him being resting. Please don’t let Cloud be too late. He should have moved sooner. Should have forced through the haze binding him quicker – even if he couldn’t move properly, he still could have done something, right? He could have told Zack to run, to leave him behind. But he didn’t. Couldn’t. He was always too weak.

When he finally manages to pull his sorry carcass over to Zack, the sight he finds is not reassuring – the man’s sweater is practically shredded from bullet holes and there’s blood _everywhere_. “Z-Zack…” Cloud’s not sure if he’s crying or if it’s just the rain running down his face. But if he’s not crying, he definitely wants to. Zack looks absolutely terrible.

Why did this keep happening to them? They had made it so far… Zack had made it so far, dragging Cloud’s worthless body with him. And this is what happens? This is the reward he gets? Bleeding out right outside Midgar? Why couldn’t it be Cloud instead? Gaia knows he hadn’t done anything. Why couldn’t he be useful for once?

As if realizing he’s no longer alone, Zack jerks and grunts in pain, but then a small smile lightens his face when his eyes land on Cloud. Cloud doesn’t deserve it, though, doesn’t deserve the warmth in the other’s eyes – this was all his fault. “For the… both of us…”

“Both… of us?”

“That’s right…” Zack’s breath catches in his throat, the effort of talking clearly very difficult for him. Cloud should tell him to stop, should beg him to save his energy – there must be something they could do to heal him – but he can’t. He can’t stop himself from clinging to every word, as if they were a lifeline keeping him alive, rather than killing Zack. “You’re gonna…”

Cloud waits, but when his friend doesn’t continue, he presses. “You’re gonna…” He can’t help himself, he has to know – Zack’s words mean everything to him.

Breath stuttering, Zack brings a hand up and pulls Cloud down. “Live.” The hand on his head curls further around him, holding him closer, and Cloud tries to sear the feeling into his soul. He doesn’t want to forget this. “You’ll be…” – a shaky breath – “my living legacy.”

Zack lets out a small gasp, the hand holding Cloud slipping away slowly, falling back to the ground with a _splash_. He must be in pain, must be – there’s blood _everywhere_. Cloud wants to cry, to beg him not to leave him, but his eyes are riveted to the man’s face, the look on which is so tender, so _loving_ , that it almost hurts to see. He barely even notices the blood – _Zack’s_ blood – staining his face, his hair.

“My honor… my dreams…” There’s a soft scrapping noise as Zack holds his sword out to him – how did he even have the strength to lift it? “They’re yours now.”

“I’m… your living… legacy.” What was that even supposed to mean? He wants to ask, hopes that Zack will explain, but the man just smiles as closes his eyes.

And doesn’t open them again.

He cries, screams to the sky, visions of his friend flashing before him as the words _no, please no_ bounce around in his chest, shredding his soul to pieces. This wasn’t fair. Take him instead, _please_. He wasn’t good for anything else. Let him save somebody for once.

Cloud’s not sure how long he stays like that, crying to the sky, wishing that Zack had just left him behind to rot and saved himself instead. But when he comes to, when he builds up the resolve to look at his friend again – his _dead_ friend – the rain has stopped, the sky bright and sunny so unlike the dark, grief-filled abyss that is his chest. “Thank you.” – _I’m sorry_ – “I won’t forget.” – _Please come back._

He nearly cries again as he wishes Zack a good night – the words _goodbye_ far too painful – and starts his long, stumbling trek to Midgar’s walls. When he finally makes it to the gates of the city, it’s dark out, nobody noticing as he not-so-silently staggers through, sword scraping behind him. He can almost see white wings behind his eyelids when he blinks and he swears it means something to him, his heart clenching painfully in his chest.

_Hey… would you say I became a hero?_

“Yeah, Zack. You became a hero,” he mumbles to himself as he collapses clumsily to the ground near the train station. “You always were my hero…”

It’s not until he starts to drift off that he realizes what’s so wrong with what he had said. Who’s Zack? He doesn’t know a Zack… And who was he, for that matter?

Oh… Right. Former SOLDIER 1st Class Cloud Strife.

.

.

.

“I’m your living legacy.”

Cloud feels his strength – and resolve – return to him at the thought of his long-dead and dearly-missed friend. Zack wouldn’t give up. He never gave up. Cloud can’t let his sacrifice go to waste, not when everything depended on him. He won’t let Sephiroth have his way. It wasn’t over yet.

He can almost imagine the smile splitting Zack’s face as he jumps to meet Sephiroth – the same smile that Zack had died with. “I pity you. You just don’t get it at all. There’s not a thing I don’t cherish!” Sephiroth chuckles, a small, condescending thing – and, oh, how Cloud’s going to love wiping that smirk off his face.

As their swords clash, that annoyingly smug look remains plastered across the demon’s face, Sephiroth no doubt believing that he would win. If he had wanted to win, he should have stabbed Cloud through the heart when he had the chance. But, no. Evil reborn had toyed with him instead – too bad he didn’t have a real mother, she could have told him not to play with his food.

When Cloud finally unleashes his Limit Break, a look of pure shock crosses over Sephiroth’s face at the sight of Tsurugi breaking into six pieces, surrounding him, Cloud disappearing in a flash of blue-purple. Only the gasps and groans of Shinra’s former poster-boy and the _shing_ of metal fill the air as Cloud attacks over and over and _over_ again. And with one final blow – and a loud _hya_ – Cloud ends it, a shockwave of gold light erupting as he lands his hit and drops back down to the roof of the ruined Shinra Building, his swords falling with him. “Stay where you belong. In my memories.”

The dark clouds finally lift, sun shining through once more, as the one-winged angel of death makes one final vow. “I will never be a memory.”

.

.

.

_I’ll be going now. I’ll come back when it’s all over._

Dead.

Aerith is dead.

So close. He had been _so_ close. Fighting off the sinister force that pulled at his body like he was a marionette with strings, drowning out the raspy voice commanding him to _kill the Ancient_ had been difficult. Extremely difficult. But he had managed. Yes, it took the horrified voices of his friends to break him out of his trance, but he had stopped. Hadn’t cut Aerith in two with the Buster Sword.

He had thought that he would finally have the chance to apologize. To beg forgiveness for whatever sick stunt he had pulled at the Temple of Ancients. But he couldn’t. Couldn’t find the words when he found Aerith kneeling at the altar, still alive. And then she had smiled at him and nothing else mattered. Sephiroth wasn’t there and Aerith was safe.

But Cloud was wrong. So terribly, _terribly_ wrong. Sephiroth was there. Was always there. And all Cloud could do was watch in sickening slow motion as evil personified descended like an angel of death from the rafters, Masamune sinking deep into Aerith’s chest.

Cloud caught her as she fell, wouldn’t let her hit the cold stone of the altar. But she was already gone, her last smile already faded from her lips. What does he do now? How does he _live_ now? Aerith would no longer laugh with them, yell at _him_ , and he just feels so hollow inside.

He yells at Sephiroth. He doesn’t recognize the words coming out of his mouth, but it distracts him from his grief, as does the fight afterwards. But his respite doesn’t last. Sephiroth’s parting words – _Because, you are… a puppet_ – aren’t even enough to keep the pain at bay. Aren’t enough to keep the ash from rising in his throat, choking him.

The urge to cry is overwhelming, but what right does he have to cry? This was all his fault – he had chased her off and wasn’t even good enough to save her. He should have been faster, stronger, … _better_. If he had, then maybe she would still be alive. Would still be smiling at him.

Instead, Yuffie cries for him, the teen clinging to him as she bawls desperately. He tries to push her away, to tell her that he’ll just get her killed, too, but his arms hang limply at his sides, his throat much too dry to form any real words. Tifa would know what to do, would know how to help, but she had run back up the stairs and out the door of the conch-house, her grief too much for her.

It seems like forever before Red’s howling has subsided, before Barret has pulled Yuffie from Cloud with a gentle, “Come on, kiddo.” The last one left, Cloud cradles Aerith’s lifeless body to his chest and follows his companions out of the conch, his lost friend’s – love’s? – body growing colder and colder with every step.

The glow of the white trees outside is unbearably bright as he lays her to rest, Aerith’s ice-like body sinking to the bottom of the lake as Cloud finally, _finally_ breaks into tears.

.

.

.

The prick of the needle is nothing. Nothing compared to the white-hot fire burning through his veins, his writhing doing nothing to distance himself from the pain. The restraints were good – _too_ good – the vice-like grip keeping him plastered to the examination table. It hasn’t been more than a minute, but Cloud thinks his voice has given out on him already, his throat rubbed raw from screaming as the doctor mocks him, his taunting words startling clear. “Why did you go after my greatest creation if you can’t even handle a little mako?”

“Please, Professor!” Cloud tries to peel open the eyes he had squeezed shut when the first wave of pain hit as the sound of rattling cage bars grows louder. He’s not entirely sure if he’s successful – all he can see is green, but he knows the blinding white of the fluorescent lighting should be above him. “Take me instead! I promise I’ll be better this time!”

Cloud wants to stop Zack, wants to convince his friend that he can handle the pain – he doesn’t want Zack getting hurt because of him – but all that comes out is a pathetic croaking whine. Nobody seems to hear him anymore, though, the monstrous doctor admonishing Zack this time. “I have no use for a failed experiment, Subject Z.” He can just make out deranged cackling as the pain becomes too much for him, foam rising in his throat, threatening to suffocate him. “Just sit back and enjoy the show!”

.

.

.

A particularly harsh jolt sends Cloud tumbling from his bed and crashing to the hard, unforgiving floor. Spluttering, Cloud heaves down breath after desperate breath, the phantom burn of mako still tearing through his body. “That bastard…” It wasn’t the first time that he had dreamt of his time in the labs, but it was definitely one of the most vivid.

And what about these dreams of Zack? He misses his friend dearly, but going back in time to his days at Shinra and befriending the man – boy? – earlier? He chuckles a little wryly, that was definitely a new one. It wasn’t even the anniversary of his death, either. But, whatever, he can reminisce later. Right now, he needs to get ready. He had promised Denzel they would start his training today. He had meant it when he said he wanted to be a better father figure for the boy, he can’t go breaking promises now just because he would rather dream about ghosts.

Pushing himself from the surprisingly cold floor, he’s only had time to think what a strange dream it was – his mind was a serious kind of messed up for thinking he wanted to be anywhere near Sephiroth, much less as his student – when the heat drains rapidly and efficiently from every corner of his body at the sight in front of him. This isn’t his room in Edge.

Oh Gaia.

_No, no, no,_ runs through his head like some wild mantra as he barrels out of the room and down the hallway. Dread is already roiling uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach as he yanks the bathroom door open – this was most definitely Shinra Tower – and he throws himself at the nearest mirror, the sight of baby fat staring back at him doing nothing for the emotions threatening to consume him.

It wasn’t a dream.

Hands shaking uncontrollably from where they clasp the edge of the sink, he tries to rack his brain for something – _anything_ – that would explain what’s going on. Was somebody out to get him? Somebody was always out to get him.

_You can have the leftovers when I’m finished!_

A wave of nausea crashes into him at the thought of the bully and he barely has time to stumble his way to the nearest stall before he’s on his knees, his stomach emptying itself in the toilet. Well, there goes his breakfast. What feels like an eternity passes before the urge to throw up subsides, or perhaps his stomach just realizes there’s nothing left. Feeling positively wasted, he sags against the toilet, breathing unfortunately ragged and throat burning from bile. He’s not proud to admit that what Johnson and his friends did still rocks him to his core, even with his memories back, but he guesses (near) gang-rape was a reasonable thing to be traumatized about. Thank Gaia for Vincent.

_I’m glad you’re safe._

Sephiroth’s voice is enough to set him off again and he finds himself hunched over the toilet bowl once more, the sound of his dry heaving echoing unsettlingly around the empty bathroom. Tears stream down his cheeks reflexively as his body rejects the memory of his former nemesis wrapped tightly around him, the once comforting thought of warm hands holding him now burns him alive, the blackened remains of Nibelheim smoldering behind his eyelids.

When his heaving finally stops, Cloud collapses to the floor – energy completely drained – and curls into a ball, the cold of the tile pressed to his cheek providing a nice distraction to the fire in his veins. Is this what everybody meant when they asked if he remembered? Can he get a refund? This isn’t what he wants. If remembering means that his body will always be at war with itself when it comes to Sephiroth, then he doesn’t want to remember. It would be one thing if only the hate was left, but it wasn’t. It didn’t erase the past two months, didn’t rid him of the small touches, the words of encouragement, … the admiration.

Groaning, he twists further in on himself, slapping his hands over his ears. He knows it won’t actually help, but at least it makes him feel better. He really needs to stop thinking about Sephiroth. He can’t handle that right now or he’ll just end up over the toilet again.

_Think happy thoughts._

He tries to listen, he really does, but he nearly cries at the young girl’s voice ringing through his head. He’ll never see Marlene again. Or Denzel. Not really. Not in any meaningful way. And that hurts more than the thought of having to deal with Sephiroth again. No wonder Barret looked so sad.

So, what then? Everybody went back in time, but still remembers? Even Sephiroth? What the absolute heck. He’s sure this has to do with Jenova – it always has to do with Jenova – but why does Sephiroth remember? Why did nobody ask him? He so did not sign up for this.

_You are the only one capable of stopping me._

Oh, he’ll stop him alright. A sharp blade to the heart should do the trick, maybe a quick twist just to be sure. No. Wait… That won’t actually work. He had first-hand experience to be certain of it. So, what does he do then? Continue his training with the man? That won’t exactly make him any less tempted to stab his living nightmare.

_Stop me from losing myself._

He feels his eye twitch as he levels the base of the toilet with the best disgruntled look he can manage – it’s the best stand-in he has for Sephiroth right now. Was he honestly supposed to believe that the man was sane now? And repentant? The (idiotic) fanboy side of him tries to remind him that Sephiroth had searched all day for him, but finally shuts up when Cloud points out that the man wouldn’t be able to torment him if he was still missing. 

_Zack believes him, though._ Cloud’s not sure which part of him brings that frustratingly valid point up, but he curses it anyway. He had been trying to avoid thinking about Zack – it was his fault that his friend had died. If he had just been stronger, hadn’t succumbed to mako poisoning, then Zack might still be alive. Except he is alive now… And remembers everything, if their fight from earlier was anything to go off of. Gaia, he really needs to apologize. For everything. For not believing his friend… and for getting him killed.

He knows he should just cut all ties with the teen. Should cut all ties with Aerith, too. Tell them how sorry he is for not being good enough and then distance himself from them forever. But… he can’t. Watching them die the first time was painful enough – he doesn’t think he could do it a second time. And it would kill him for sure if he was the reason for their deaths… again. But he doesn’t want to let them go either. All he wants to do is hug them tight and never let go. To protect them with his body like they had done for him all those years ago. He’d fight a million Jenovas if it just meant that Aerith and Zack would be safe.

Besides, he’s pretty sure they wouldn’t let him run away again, figuratively or literally. They had already proven the insane lengths they were willing to go to to find him. No doubt they would just tell him he was being stupid – they clearly forgave Sephiroth, so why wouldn’t they forgive him, too? – and insist that they actually wanted him there.

_I already told Zack that I’m interested in you joining us._

Cloud chokes on his spit and jerks so hard that he ends up lying on his back, staring up at the too-high ceiling. Had they really propositioned him? And he had said no? What was he thinking??

_Uhh… silver hair, actually._

Remembering exactly why he had said no, his hands come up to grasp weakly at his throat as his breathing stops. The memories of the other day replay themselves mercilessly behind his horrified eyes, Cloud still able to feel every touch, every caress, every tingle that had gone down his spine. The relief in the General’s eyes, in his voice, wraps painfully around his heart, the words _I’m glad you’re safe_ ringing violently through his head. And the once comforting rumble of laughter now quakes within him, threatening to tear him asunder.

Before he realizes it, Nibelheim is burning once more, his mother’s lifeless body engulfed while he watches helplessly from the sidelines, eyes stinging from the smoke surrounding him, suffocating him. As his vision turns black, his consciousness failing him, he can almost hear Sephiroth warning him not to test his luck, the sharp, excruciating sting of Masamune sliding through his ribcage more than enough to drive his point home (literally and figuratively).

_Breathe, Cloud. Everything will be ok._

Not for the first time, Tifa’s voice acts as the anchor he needs to pull himself back to reality enough to realize that the tingling to his lips and the black splotches around his eyes are because he’s still not breathing, rather than some unfortunate side-effect of smoke inhalation. Listening attentively to the memory of her guiding him out of his panic attack – _Breathe in, count to 10, release_ – he comes back to himself slowly, his hands falling from his neck with a light _thunk_ , body far more worn out than when he had lost his breakfast twice.

What was he thinking? He has a crush on Sephiroth? Him? Really?? He _cannot_ be serious.

A loud rumbling in the hallway is almost enough to distract him from his fun on the floor, but he’s only lifted his head up the barest of inches before he changes his mind. Sighing exhausted, he lies back down, curling in on himself again. “Nope. Not my problem.” Somebody else can handle things for once – stick a fork in him, he’s done.

Running a weary hand down his face, he tries to figure out just what the hell has happened (as if he hadn’t been doing that before… more or less successfully). So, what, they’re in the past again and everybody remembers? Well, everybody important that is. Tifa, Zack, and Aerith definitely remember. And Sephiroth and his friends. Vincent, the Turks, and Rufus. Nanaki, Barret, and Cid. Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge – a tear slides down his cheek at the thought of those three lovable goons alive again. Then what? Everybody just decided to band together and save the planet? Just what had been going on while his memories evaded him?

Groaning frustrated, he finally manages to convince himself that no good will come from lying on the (probably filthy) bathroom floor. He won’t be solving any of his problems this way – though he is half tempted to find out if hiding in a cadet bathroom stall is enough to keep Sephiroth at bay. …Probably not. Chuckling wryly at the mental image that that thought provides, he somewhat sluggishly pushes himself to a seated position.

As he catches the breath that that rather simple task cost him, he decides that he should probably find everybody first – as much as he really doesn’t want to. He needs to figure out why everybody remembers, what the _heck_ is going on, what his role in all of this bullshit is, and why he has to be fun-sized... It seriously isn’t fair – Zack has to be a teenager again, but at least he gets to be tall.

Still grumbling about the unjustness of it all, he ever so slowly makes it back to now-trembling legs. Far more unsteadily than when he had first entered the stall, he staggers his way to the sink, wincing at the sight of himself in the mirror. Gaia, he looks like a real mess. Better get to work.

The leftover bile hasn’t caked itself on yet, so it comes up easily (and disgustingly) enough, Cloud rinsing his mouth out for good measure. He’s just patting his face dry, when the bathroom door slams open behind him. Spinning around, Cloud comes face-to-face with a cadet who looks just about as green as Cloud felt not so long ago. The cadet, for his part, freezes at the sight of Cloud, one hand held precariously in front of his face. All it takes is a jerk of Cloud’s head towards the stalls for the momentary trance to break, the cadet locking himself in the same stall Cloud had used, his helmet and rifle clattering to the floor forgotten.

Cloud tries not to pull a face at the sounds coming from the stall, he really does, but it’s so much worse on the other side. Though, he guesses he was much more focused on the disgusting feel of it all when he was the one bent over the toilet.

When the cadet finally finishes his business and stumbles weakly to the sink next to him, he throws a weary look Cloud’s way. “You too, Strife?” Cloud’s confusion must say it all, cause the cadet’s exhausted face turns to a much more incredulous one. “Haven’t you heard?”

“Heard what?”

The cadet starts to turn a worrying shade of green again as he answers, eyes terrified. “We’re under attack!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I'm not sure whether I made things better or worse, but Cloud remembers now! Who's ready for BAMF Cloud? I know I am.  
> \- The out-of-order dream sequence was done on purpose. I wanted Rufus to come first and Hojo to come last, and then I just liked the idea of everything being all jumbled.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is the entire reason I started writing this fic in the first place. I couldn't get a certain scene out of my head - you'll probably know it when you see it ;)

“Oh, Tifa!”

She’s really not in the mood for this, not after delving into Hojo’s lab with her dad, not after being read the riot act unnecessarily for being an eco-terrorist – she knows blowing up reactors is not the answer now – but she still plasters on a fake smile as she turns to Butch. She would love to tell the bully to leave her alone, perhaps in more colorful language than that (she _had_ learned from the best), but she doesn’t want to cause any more problems for her dad. Not when he had just accepted Barret and Cid. “Butch?”

“How does it look?” Butch is all nervous optimism as he gestures to the rusted piece of shit in front of him. Tifa’s pretty sure it’s supposed to be an automobile, but he’s got the exhaust pipe on the wrong end. The words _like a goddamn mess_ run temptingly through her head, but she catches herself just in time, fluttering her eyelashes prettily as she instead opts for, “Wow. Did you build that all by yourself?”

Somehow, he can’t detect the mocking undertone to her voice, the teen puffing out his chest, proud, like some sort of preening peacock. What an idiot. Why did she ever associate with him before? “Once I’m finished, we can go anywhere we want!”

Looking down her nose at the pathetic excuse for a car, when she returns her attention to Butch, she’s mildly disgusted to find that the large teen looks surprisingly worse than his creation. He can’t actually expect her to want to go anywhere with his greasy ass, can he? “It’ll need some tires first.”

“Oh yeah… right.”

She almost feels bad for how embarrassed he gets at her apathy, but she wasn’t supposed to be impressed, was she? Cid builds his own airships, for Gaia’s sake. Besides, Butch’s incessant bullying is a big part of why Cloud is so unsure of himself. It might be childish of her to hold a grudge, but she certainly couldn’t see Butch apologizing any time soon. Well, at least she knows how to handle the bully now. “Oh! You remember Cloud, don’t you?” He better not have forgotten, he was the entire reason Cloud nearly drowned when they were younger.

“That los—” The anger drains swiftly from his face at the sight of her raised eyebrow, the teen scrambling to hide his slip-up. Apparently not successful, he just chuckles awkwardly, running a filthy hand through his sweaty hair. “Oh… that Cloud. What about him?”

Tifa resists the urge to chuckle evilly – she’s _so_ going to enjoy this. “Did you hear he’s being trained by Sephiroth now – _the_ Sephiroth?”

Butch looks like he’s about to pass out with how quickly the blood drains from his face. She was hoping for that reaction. “…S-S-Sephiroth?”

“Yeah! Sephiroth chose him personally, too. Said Cloud had serious potential.” She’s really going to need to wash her mouth out after this – maybe her dad has some lye somewhere – but at least the bastard was good for something. “Sephiroth’s never taken a student before, either, so Cloud must be really special! He even summoned _Bahamut_ on the second day! Can you believe it?” Butch looks like he, in fact, does not believe it, so Tifa pulls out her PHS for the coup de grâce. “Look at this!”

She’s not proud in the slightest to be a member of Sephiroth’s fanclub, but how else was she going to keep an eye on Cloud? It’s so worth it, though, for how Butch’s eyes bug out at the sight of the picture she shows him. The picture that Tifa had very nearly gagged at while the rest of the man’s fanclub went absolutely bonkers – _‘Kyaa!!! Look at that smile!!!’_. The one where Sephiroth was hovering almost possessively over her friend, one hand on his back, an almost human-looking smile on the man’s face while Cloud blushed rather endearingly up at him.

“T-T-That’s…” Poor kid. She thinks she might have broken him with how his mouth opens and closes audibly, no other sound coming out, pure jealously written all over his face.

“Sephiroth! I know! Isn’t it so cool??” She thinks she’s going to be sick.

“Oh, Butch. There you are.” Tifa turns startled at the sound of her father’s voice to find the man walking their way. She wasn’t entirely done ‘bragging’ about Cloud, but she guesses it can wait. Especially with the quick wink her father sends her way. She gets the feeling she’s going to enjoy this, too, and a vicious smirk crosses over her face – good thing Butch couldn’t see her, she doesn’t want him having any sort of warning of what’s to come. “Would you care to explain why you lied to me?”

“S-Sir?”

“Oh, have you forgotten? Well, that’s a shame.” Her father crosses his arms over his chest. “Here, let me remind you. Why did you tell me that Cloud forced Tifa to scale Mt. Nibel when you knew it was Tifa’s idea the entire time?”

* * *

“We’re under attack!”

“I beg your pardon?” Cloud must be hearing things. He might have been stationed in Junon the last time, but he’s almost positive that was Avalanche – the first coming of it anyway. Rufus should have taken care of that by now. Besides, Cloud’s Avalanche is currently working _with_ the President, as crazy as that still sounds.

“Wutai’s infiltrated the Tower!”

Cloud blinks stupidly as the words process. How had Wutai infiltrated the Tower? Was this the assassin Zack was talking about? Wait… Wutaian assassin. Cloud nearly snorts – it would be _hilarious_ if that was Yuffie. But, no, she’s like 9. She wouldn’t really come all this way, would she? …Yes, yes she really would – this was Yuffie he was talking about. But Rufus wouldn’t raise the alarm if it was actually her, he was at least smarter than that. No, there has to be more to it. “How many assailants are there?”

The cadet’s terrified fidgeting stops as he stares wide-eyed back at Cloud. “I… I don’t know.” The kid casts a nervous glance around the bathroom as if afraid that Wutaian rebels were lurking in the shadows. “But there must be a lot of them or Director Heidegger wouldn’t have called for all hands on deck, right?”

Cloud really hopes the disgust isn’t visible on his face – the cadet was cute, he seemed like a nice kid – but that was giving Heidegger _way_ too much credit. The man was a bumbling imbecile on a good day. “Any word where they are?”

“Uh… no. But the Director wants troopers on each floor to flush them out. He’s assembling a small, elite team to protect the President.”

Cloud sighs – something wasn’t right. Heidegger _hates_ Rufus. He wouldn’t go out of his way to protect him, would he? And he didn’t honestly believe that this ‘elite’ team of his was better prepared to protect the President than the SOLDIERs or the Turks, did he? “Something just doesn’t add up. Nobody knows how many attackers there are or even where they’re at, but for some reason we’re certain that Wutai’s attacking us?”

“Ohh… I….”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.” Cloud would find out, that is. He had promised Zack that he wouldn’t go anywhere, but he’s pretty sure that’s null and void now. There’s no way he would find out anything meaningful by just sitting quietly in his room. And there’s no way he would leave Zack alone again. Not when he just got him back. No, he’ll just have to be careful and keep an eye out for this assassin – he didn’t learn all of Vincent’s tricks for nothing.

And if he very specifically drowns out Zack’s voice telling him why the assassin would go after him first, then so what?

* * *

“Cadet! What do you think you’re doing??”

It’s probably for the best that the officer walking his way doesn’t hear Cloud’s exasperated sigh. He’d only just parted ways with the other cadet and grabbed his helmet and rifle – better for disguising and protecting himself if he did run into any Wutaian rebels. He hadn’t even pulled his door closed yet and here’s this red-faced officer stomping his way. Great. Just what he needs. “Just grabbing my equipment, sir.”

The red splotches on the man’s lower face only seem to multiply as he yells again, his volume still painfully loud even with their closer proximity. “What took you so long?!”

“Had to throw up, sir. Sorry, sir.” Wutai attacking wasn’t the reason he threw up, but the man doesn’t need to know that.

The officer scoffs, judgement evident in his rough voice when he responds. “You too?? Some cadets we have.”

Cloud guesses the other cadet must have run into this moron, too – poor kid. “Sorry, sir. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold it in and I wasn’t exactly sure of the efficacy of projectile vomit in battle. I figured it might be more of a liability than an asset, so I opted to unload in the toilet instead.”

The officer’s face goes slack at his response – well at least the half Cloud can see – the cogs in his head no doubt having come to a complete and utter stop. When the man manages to pull himself together again, his voice takes on a dangerous edge, his eyes no doubt narrowed behind his helmet. “Don’t you talk back to me, _Cadet_.”

“My apologies, sir. I meant no disrespect.” Talk back? Really? He was answering his question. Idiot. It’s a shame he hasn’t put his helmet on yet, he really wants to roll his eyes at this buffoon.

The officer sizes him up for a long moment before apparently deciding that Cloud wasn’t worth the effort. “Come on, _Cadet_. You’re with me now. I can’t have you embarrassing Director Heidegger. Just you watch, he’ll be the one to save us all.”

Save them all? Was he serious? Cloud’s so tempted to tell the man not to hold his breath, but he can already guess how well that would be received. “How many assailants are there, sir?” This officer was a complete and total idiot if he thought Heidegger was going to save anybody, much less all of them, but Cloud still needs answers. He could better plan his response if he knew how many people to look out for.

“More than you can count, Cadet.”

“Sir?”

“Must have been a hundred of those bastards. Saw them with my own eyes.”

“Wow…” Cloud’s not really sure what he had been expecting, but he should have known that he wouldn’t get anything useful out of this moron. And he honestly can’t decide whether he’s more offended that this idiot thought he couldn’t count higher than 100 or that he actually believed that that many Wutaian rebels managed to make it into Midgar, let alone the Shinra Building, without anyone noticing before now.

“Now, come on, Cadet.”

Cloud keeps his face amazingly neutral as he responds, “Yes, sir.” The officer buys the whole thing, seemingly pleased with his apparent obedience. Once again, thank Gaia for Vincent. The man doesn’t see it coming, doesn’t see Cloud coming – he’s only just turned around, Cloud’s only just scanned the hallway for onlookers, when Cloud has him knocked out before the officer can say more than “This way…”

Catching the man before he clatters to the floor, armor and all, Cloud stashes him in a random room. Not Cloud’s room, though, that’s disgusting – he sleeps there. He would have preferred to have resolved things without violence, but he couldn’t stick around that simpering Heidegger fanboy any longer. He has things to do. Better to ditch the dumbass now. Besides, he’s Sephiroth’s student, it’s not like he’ll actually get into trouble for this. Huh. He guesses Sephiroth can be good for something after all. Go figure.

* * *

_Crash!_

The loud thudding from the conference room they had just left has everyone on high alert, the Turks moving instinctually to shield the President, Sephiroth turning, one hand already on Masamune’s hilt. As the doors slowly slide open, though, what they find waiting for them is not what Sephiroth expected in the slightest.

“Sephiroth! It’s time you answered for your crimes! Ugly Shinra SOLDIER dudes must be PUNISHED!!”

Sephiroth will admit that he’s rather slow responding to the accusation, he’s still not entirely sure what he’s seeing. For standing in the doorway of the conference room, glaring at him in what can only be a menacing way, hands on her hips, is an honest-to-Gaia child, the cover to the air ducts lying forgotten on the table behind her. She must have been watching their discussion from above, but how she managed to get to the 64th floor unnoticed, much less get into the air ducts with the giant 4-point shuriken strapped to her back – honestly, that thing was bigger than her – was anybody’s guess.

“What have you to say for yourself, Sephiroth?!” The child yells, not intimidated in the slightest by the men in front of her, the fluorescent lighting glinting off her forehead protector as she tilts her head up to glare death at him better.

Before Sephiroth can determine the best course of action – he’s at least socially adept enough to know that attacking a child is **bad** , even if they’re the one threatening you first – Zack is squinting at their unexpected companion. “Treasure Princess…?”

Sephiroth raises an eyebrow at the teen, hoping for an explanation, but Reno takes the opportunity to cut in, the red-head apparently knowing their pint-sized infiltrator, too. “Oi, brat! What are you doing here??”

“Why, to kill Sephiroth and avenge Wutai, of course!” The girl stands taller, proud of her declaration, as Sephiroth finally realizes why the green turtleneck and khaki shorts she’s wearing seem so familiar – this was another of Cloud’s former comrades. She’s quite a bit shorter than he remembers, and she was short before.

“Ms. Kisaragi,” Rude sighs, pushing his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose and looking far more exasperated than surprised at the child’s antics, “Is it safe to assume that you’re the assassin we’ve been hearing about? The one who’s been trying to assemble a hit team?”

Arms dropping to her side, the girl looks momentarily stunned by Rude’s question. “How did you hear about that?”

“Your father warned us.” It’s Sephiroth’s turn to be shocked by Rude’s revelation. This was Lord Godo’s daughter? Their personalities did not mesh at all. Though, he probably should be more concerned with how she managed to get all the way to Midgar without her father or any of her retainers realizing.

“Wow. He’s smarter than I give him credit for…”

Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, Rufus turns an entirely unimpressed look Tseng’s way. “Tseng. I thought you said she didn’t remember.”

Tseng, to his credit, looks far more embarrassed than Sephiroth has ever seen him – which _is_ saying something – even if it’s just the slightest reddening of his ears. “I managed to get close to her during peace negotiations, sir. She did not react when I mentioned the names of her former comrades nor did she even seem to recognize me.”

“Haw haw haw! Of course I recognized you! But you were working with the enemy!” Sephiroth doesn’t need to be a genius to know that he’s the enemy she’s referring to. “You didn’t forget me and Vincent were best buds, did you? I learned allll his tricks!” And she winks at Tseng, sending the man a toothy grin and looking entirely too pleased about having out-Turked the Turk.

Reno apparently doesn’t think better of it – or doesn’t think at all – and cackles at his boss. From the way Tseng’s eye twitches almost imperceptibly, Sephiroth knows the red-head will answer for that later. “She got you _good_ , Boss! Oh man, trolled by a 5-year-old!”

As if a switch was flipped, the girl is indignant again, hands back on her hips. “I’m 9, thanks!”

“Same difference.” Reno scoffs, waving a hand dismissively.

“I forgot how annoying you are, Carrot Top!”

“Ditto, Pipsqueak!”

A hand lands on Reno’s shoulder, Rude looking at his partner disapprovingly. “Reno. She’s a child. You’re not.”

Reno grumbles, brushing off his friend’s hand and appearing to be doing his best to ignore the girl’s taunting “Ohhh, _burn_!” After a very long moment, he finally huffs out a sigh and crosses his arms in front of him. “Fine. But what’s with the gauntlet, brat? I thought you gave that up?”

“I knew I needed some protection if I was gonna go up against this guy,” she responds, pointing her gauntleted arm at Sephiroth. Sephiroth, for his part, blinks at her confused – he’s not sure why she thought that that would be adequate protection while still leaving her midriff bare, but who was he to talk? “I’ve been waiting, biding my time since remembering. But then when I saw this creep getting all handsy with Cloud, I knew I had to act!” And though she levels him with the best disgruntled look she can manage, it doesn’t have nearly the same weight that Cloud’s would. “I tried getting some support, yeah, but Sephiroth has everybody in Wutai fooled! Not me, though! I know who he really is!”

And with that assertion, the girl dashes forward, hands behind her, the conference room doors sliding silently shut. Sephiroth’s still half-frozen from his confusion as she comes to a stop, stomping a foot and punching the air in front of him. “You’re trying to lure Cloud over to the dark side, aren’t you??”

Brain still failing him, Zack comes to his defense, hands raised in front of him in what can only be his attempt at a calming gesture. “Whoa, kid. Sephiroth’s not going to hurt Cloud. He’s trying to help him.”

The sneer falls from the girl’s face the moment she gets a good look at Zack, the child looking the teen up and down thoughtfully before replying. “Hey, I remember you… What’d you do with my treasure, pretty boy?” At Zack’s puzzled look, she sighs and shakes her head. “Nevermind. Can’t get distracted now. He’s got you fooled, pretty boy!” She claims, pointing at Sephiroth once more. “This wouldn’t be the first time that he’s tried to seduce Cloud to his side! What did you offer him this time??” She finishes, returning her glare to him and punching his way once more. “Take that, bad guy!”

“By the Goddess, Sephiroth,” Genesis exclaims, looking and sounding entirely too entertained for the current situation. “Do we have to worry about any other tiny terrors coming to take their revenge against you?” A smirk has made its way onto the man’s face as he continues, “And pray tell, what does she mean by seducing Cloud to the dark side?”

Sephiroth has only just sighed in response when the girl turns her irritation to Genesis, stomping her foot and punching in his direction this time. “Tiny?? You’re one to talk with those heels you’re wearing! Upset that all your friends are taller than you?” As expected, Genesis does not take the taunting well, his smirk melting into a sneer. The girl does not give him any more time to react, though, either not noticing Genesis’s worsening mood or just not caring. “Those eyes… You’re another one of those ugly SOLDIER dudes, aren’t you?”

Sephiroth grimaces – here we go. If there was one thing you didn’t insult, it was the man’s appearance. And before anybody can remind Genesis that he’s the adult in this confrontation – or reassure him that yes, he is rather handsome – the man scoffs, offended, fire burning in his eyes. “Ugly?? I beg your pardon??” All Sephiroth can do is hope that the girl doesn’t take a jab at _Loveless_ , too. He has no real desire to find out how good she is at dodging fire.

“Are you deaf, too?”

Genesis’s bracer has only just started to glow in warning, when Angeal has a hand clamped down on their friend’s arm. “ _Genesis._ She’s a child.” The _you’re not_ goes unspoken this time, but Genesis hears it anyway, yanking his arm free, a scowl set deep on his face. He doesn’t make any more move to retaliate, though, and Angeal takes that as permission to turn to their intruder and drop down to her eye level – while none of them have any experience with children, Angeal was no doubt the most qualified to handle this situation. “Ms. Kisaragi, was it? My name is Angeal Hewley.” He lays a hand over his heart as he continues, “You have my solemn promise that Sephiroth has no ulterior motive. Nobody’s trying to hurt Cloud.”

The girl glares at him, glares at all of them, little arms crossed over her chest. “As if I would believe the jerks that made Cloud cry!”

“Cloud didn’t cry, though…”

“Not in front of you jerks, he didn’t! But he had the same look on his face that he did when that asshole killed Aerith!” she yells, pointing her gauntleted arm at Sephiroth once more.

“I…” Sephiroth tries to apologize, to explain himself, to say anything that would help the guilt clawing through him, but is almost immediately drowned out by Zack’s heartbroken “Cloudy…”

“You meanies are just taking advantage of Cloud not remembering!!”

“Ms. Kisaragi – ” Tseng tries his hand at calming her, but is almost immediately interrupted.

“Now, I know everybody’s dyin’ to talk to a babe like me – ” Sephiroth still has absolutely no idea what’s going on “ – but I have a mission to complete!” And much faster than Sephiroth was expecting, the girl has jumped back several feet, unstrapping the shuriken in the process, and thrown her weapon at him. Even with her diminutive size and the fact that she was still moving when she attacked, her aim is _flawless_ , and Sephiroth finds that he barely has the time to dodge – “Hey! Don’t move!” – several strands of silver hair lost as the shuriken whizzes past. It probably wouldn’t have done that much damage if the hit had landed, but perhaps he should start taking this seriously.

Unfortunately, the moment the weapon goes zooming past is also the exact moment that the doors behind them slide open. “Mr. President, we need to talk!” But that is as far as Heidegger gets before the giant shuriken is lodged firmly in the doorframe next to him. No longer interested in explaining why he was there or even how he knew the President was there, the large, bearded man squawks affronted at the apparent ‘attempt’ on his life, his face reddening unattractively. “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Rufus grumbles for only them to hear, before striding forward to intercept the troopers flanking Heidegger, the troopers who look a second away from searching for the mysterious assailant. “Stand down. There is no danger here.”

But the girl doesn’t get the message, and she runs forward past them to get a better look at the newcomers. Pointing an accusing finger at Heidegger, she then proceeds to make everything worse. “GROSS-NESS! You’re still alive, fatso?!?”

“Fatso?! Just who do you think you are?!”

“Don’t – ” Rufus tries to warn her, he really does. But the child doesn’t listen – or doesn’t care – puffing out her chest again, tiny fists back on tiny hips. “I’m the Great Ninja Yuffie! Wutai’s greatest warrior!”

Sephiroth has only had the time to curse Heidegger’s poor timing – how did he know they were on the 64th floor? – when the man’s face changes color again. “Wutai?!?”

“That’s right! I’ve come to avenge Wutai for everything Shinra has done!” The girl – Yuffie – tilts her head to the side, thinking. “Hmm. Might as well add you to the list, too, fatso! I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done and what you would have done!”

“Avenge Wutai?! Just how many of you are there?!”

“Hundreds! …No, thousands! You might as well give up now, it’ll be easier!”

For some untold reason, Heidegger seems to believe her, his face so red, Sephiroth’s afraid that steam will come out of his ears – or at least, he thinks that’s the phrase Genesis would use. “Men! Seize her!”

Heidegger must have brought the boot-lickingly loyal troopers today, all of them moving forward together as one, seemingly unconcerned by the fact that their target is a small child. As Rufus orders them to stand down once more, and as Angeal and Zack move to protect the girl, Yuffie finally seems to realize the trouble she’s in – “Uh oh. Time to bounce.” – and she pulls a small sphere from a hidden pocket, throwing it on the ground and disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

“What the – Ow!” It’s only when the smoke clears and Sephiroth gets a good look at Heidegger’s hunched over form, that he realizes Yuffie probably got a good kick in on her way out, her and her shuriken missing, only a large gash in the door frame and Heidegger’s (superficial) injury to prove that she was there. “Find her, you idiots!!”

“ _Gentlemen._ ” Rufus’s voice is even, controlled, but there’s no mistaking the power behind it, nor the way the troopers stop immediately in their tracks, turning to face their now angry President. “Did you not hear me the first two times? I said. Stand. Down.”

There’s a grumbling and then Heidegger is pulling himself to his feet again. “But Mr. President, you cannot ignore this!”

“I’m not ignoring this. But you will not get involved. Do you understand?”

“Not get involved?! You heard that little rat! She said there were hundreds of them!”

Rufus rolls his eyes, a sentiment Sephiroth feels he shares – was Heidegger really this stupid? “She was obviously lying.” Before Heidegger can do more than grunt in protest, Rufus has raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “Or are you telling me that hundreds of Wutaian militants have managed to infiltrate the Tower – _my_ Tower – without you or your department noticing?” Heidegger’s fists ball up at his sides, but he doesn’t answer. “Are you saying that you’ve failed me that badly?”

“…No.”

“Pardon me?”

“No…sir.” Heidegger grits his teeth, struggling to show deference to somebody he so clearly hates. “But I must insist that we do something with this intruder! We cannot let them mock Shinra like this!”

“Oh? And what would you suggest?”

Heidegger’s beady eyes flash disturbingly, the man slamming a meaty fist into the palm of his other hand. “We must crush them! Thoroughly and completely, without hesitation or mercy!”

Rufus sighs. “And that is exactly why you won’t be doing anything.”

Growling, Heidegger glares daggers at the President. “Have you already forgotten the war? If we spare our enemies, they’ll repay our ‘kindness’ with blood!”

“Are you so stupid that you’ve already forgotten that this ‘enemy’ you speak of is a child?” The President waves a hand dismissively before Heidegger can do more than curl his lip upwards in anger. “Don’t mistake me, Director. I do not plan to do nothing as you claim. But I will not incite another pointless war by ‘crushing’ a little girl.”

“But sir – ”

“No buts. As I said before, you are not to get involved. My Turks will be more than enough for this.”

“But sir!”

“ _Heidegger._ ” Sephiroth can practically feel the irritation rolling off the President in waves – Heidegger did have quite the knack for riling him up. “Who is in charge here?”

“The President, sir.”

“And who is the President?”

Heidegger practically sneers. “You…sir.”

“Exactly. And as the President, _I_ give the orders. Not you. Is that understood?” Rufus’s voice is low, dangerous, and very, very condescending – he had obviously had more than his fill of this idiot.

Heidegger looks like he’s one insult away from a temper tantrum as he bites out, “Yes…sir.”

“Good.” Turning away from Heidegger and his troopers, Rufus addresses the rest of them. “Come on, we’ll talk more upstairs.”

As they file out, Sephiroth doesn’t miss the way Heidegger shakes with barely-concealed anger, the man glaring at the spot where Rufus had been standing. Nor does his miss the way Heidegger bellows at his subordinates – “GET AWAY FROM ME!!” – the loud clattering that follows very evidently the result of Heidegger throwing something. Well, Sephiroth has the feeling they haven’t heard the last of the volatile man just yet.

* * *

“Cadet!”

Cloud nearly sighs again – why was there somebody guarding the elevator bay? Sure, he knows that there’s this supposed ‘invasion’, but what use would Wutaian rebels have for the cadet floor? They would go straight for the top of the Tower. Granted, there’s still this business of some assassin that may or may not come after him for being Sephiroth’s apparent – nope, not thinking about that. That’s why he brought his helmet, to not have to worry about this ‘assassin’. “Yes, sir?”

“Where’s Stevens?”

“Uh…” Stevens? Was that that dumbass officer he ran into? Well, he can’t exactly tell him that he had knocked the idiot out and hid the body. He better come up with something. And quick. “He thought he saw some Wutaian rebels, sir! He sent me to call for backup!”

“What?!” Cloud almost feels bad for tricking him, almost, but he has work to do. “But we’ve been guarding the elevators!”

Cloud shrugs. “Perhaps they’ve been hiding this entire time, sir.” He doesn’t point out that they’re not guarding the stairwell – knowing his luck, he might end up needing to use it.

“You’re right!”

Well, that was easier than he thought, but he’s not going to look a gift Chocobo in the mouth. And like with his idiotic counterpart, Cloud has the trooper knocked out in no time flat, stowing the body in an alcove behind a large potted plant – he definitely doesn’t have the time (nor desire) to lug the body back to the dorms.

The elevator is empty when he finally gets on and starts his slow ascent up. He just hopes that his luck will hold out this time, that he’ll make it to the top of the Tower before things take a turn for the worse.

* * *

“I insist that you take this threat seriously, _sir_.”

While Rufus had made it quite clear that he would be taking no more visitors for the rest of the day, between a red-faced Heidegger and all the troopers he brought – honestly, there must be close to 40 of them – nobody could blame the poor secretary for letting them through.

“We’ve been over this before, Heidegger.” Rufus pinches the bridge of his nose, appearing to be rather tired with this interruption. Sephiroth finds he understands – he’s not sure how long Heidegger has been here, grilling the President, but it already feels like an eternity. He’s very tempted to silence the man himself, permanently… but that would create an unnecessary scene. Rufus had already ordered them not to provoke the Director – “The fates are truly cruel if I have to listen to your incessant drivel twice in one day.” – and that probably extends to trying to kill him, too. “There is no threat, just a little girl who seems to be operating under a huge misunderstanding.”

“She nearly killed me!”

Sephiroth keeps the ‘if only’ to himself as Rufus answers once more, the President’s level of patience while dealing with this buffoon rather impressive, though the condescension is still there. “It was an accident. Nobody knew you would be coming through that door.”

“An accident?! She said herself that she was working for Wutai! And she put me on her hit list!”

Sephiroth’s not sure how much more of this he can take. He would almost prefer Jenova to this. _Almost_. Before he can do something inadvisable, though, Tseng speaks up, hands behind his back, the man expertly placed to protect his President. “Not once did she say she was working for or with Wutai. Just that she needed to ‘avenge’ Wutai. Do you have any idea where she got that idea, Director?” Sephiroth has to hand it to Tseng – leave it to a Turk to subtly implicate Heidegger’s involvement in all this.

Whether the troopers take the bait is anyone’s guess, but subtlety flies right over Heidegger’s head. “You!” Heidegger snarls, pointing a fat finger Tseng’s way. “This must be your fault!”

Rude’s offended grunt and Reno’s outraged “What did you say?!” are silenced with a wave of Rufus’s hand, Heidegger getting in one last barb – “You need to muzzle your pets!” – before the President acts.

“Make no mistake, _Director_.” Rufus voice is deadly as he slowly rises from his chair. If there was one way to wear through Rufus’s patience, it was by insulting what he considered his – and the Turks, he very much considered _his_. “Insulting my Turks is very much the same as insulting me.” He glares at Heidegger for a very long moment, letting his words sink in before continuing, “Tseng’s heritage has nothing to do with this. He was caught just as unawares as the rest of us.” The President’s eyes narrow as he looks the Director up and down reproachfully. “While we are pointing fingers, though, would you care to explain how this child managed to make it all the way to the top of the Tower without anybody noticing? That is your job as head of Public Security, isn’t it? Making sure no unauthorized individual makes it past the lobby?”

Heidegger’s mouth twitches as he tries to come up with a suitable excuse. “…It must have been an inside job.”

“Oh? Please tell me you’re not about to accuse my Turks again.”

A scowl finds its way onto Heidegger’s face as he shakes uncontrollably. “This company is going to shit with you at the helm! You’re nothing compared to your father!”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Heidegger is the one to narrow his eyes this time, the man apparently at his limit. “The rumors were true, weren’t they? It _was_ you.” Rufus’s raised brow is apparently all the confirmation he needs, the man shaking a fist and yelling for all to hear. “I knew something was wrong about your father’s death! You killed him!”

Rufus’s expression remains neutral as he stares down his opponent. “The Turks found he died of natural causes. You do realize that me killing him isn’t a natural cause, right?”

“The Turks are in your pocket!! What’s natural about a bullet to the head?!?”

The President braces his hands against his desk as he leans closer to the fuming man. Sephiroth knows that whatever he’s about to say won’t be enough to deescalate the situation, not with that raving buffoon in the middle of the room. But he can only hope that it’ll be enough to convince the troopers with him not to take part in this mutiny. There’s no way four 1st Class SOLDIERs, three Turks, and the President would lose to a platoon of troopers, but he would prefer to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed and the scandal it would undoubtedly create. He’s sure they all would.

“That’s the last straw, _Heidegger_.” There’s no mistaking the venom in the President’s voice as he speaks. “I will not stand idly by while you slander my name. How _dare_ you accuse me of murdering my father – ” even though he did “ – and how _dare_ you imply that my Turks covered the whole thing up - ” even though they did. “I have tried to be patient with you and your thinly veiled hatred for me. But your flagrant disrespect has gone too far this time. This. Is. Sedition.” Sephiroth doesn’t think that’s enough to stop Heidegger, and Rufus must agree, the man waving to the troopers in the room, addressing them now instead. “Would somebody please show the Director to the holding cells?”

Heidegger turns a sickening shade of burgundy as he points a shaking finger at Rufus’s face. “You… These are my men!! I tell them what to do!!” And as he turns his own attention to the troopers, some of them wilt under his heated gaze – they must be intimately familiar with the Director’s penchant for violence. “MEN!! SEIZE THE PRESIDENT!!” Crossing his arms over his chest, he turns back to Rufus. “FOR THE MURDER OF HIS PREDECESSOR AND THE BETRAYAL OF HIS COUNTRY!!”

The troopers don’t show the same blind loyalty as the few from the 64th floor, the men shaking where they stand, looking back and forth between one another nervously, unsure what to do. Though, whether their reluctance stems from a disinclination to move against the President or fear of death at the hands of the SOLDIERs and Turks in the room, Sephiroth is unsure. Their hesitance to follow orders doesn’t stop Zack from tensing, though, Angeal having to come to his former student’s defense. “Zack, breathe.”

“Sorry, ‘geal. Bad memories.”

“I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Neither would Sephiroth, not after he was responsible for the teen’s death the first time around. No, he won’t fail him again. Not so soon, at least. And ever so casually, he takes the few steps needed to position himself directly in front of Zack, his hand on Masamune’s hilt. “Stand down, Director. You are the only one here betraying your country.” He could try to write his movement off as getting closer to the raging threat in the middle of the room – Zack would probably buy it. Angeal and Genesis, though… probably not.

Those beady, fury-filled eyes are then on him, Heidegger sneering his way. “You too, Sephiroth? You always were the President’s little lapdog.” Little? No. Lapdog? Definitely not. But he would _gladly_ gut Heidegger where he stood with or without the President’s permission. Lucky for the idiot, he’s more concerned about having the willpower to resist Jenova than reacting to every taunting jibe. His silence and arched brow do little for Heidegger’s mood, and the rebellious Director is roaring once more. “IF THEY RESIST, YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO SHOOT!!”

“But, sir, that’s Sephiroth… He’ll kill us…”

Well, at least somebody has some common sense. That doesn’t stop Heidegger, though. “SO?? YOU OUTNUMBER HIM!! PUT A BULLET THROUGH HIS BRAIN!!”

“But, sir…”

“SO HARD TO FIND GOOD HELP!!” Sephiroth is already unsheathing Masamune, Tseng is already throwing himself in front of the President, the man reaching for his holster, as Heidegger rips the rifle from the trooper’s hands, shoving the poor boy to the ground in the process. “I’LL DO IT MYSELF!!”

.

.

.

_Bang!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to everybody I misled or tried to mislead (even if you didn't believe me) - Yuffie is the assassin XD


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I've had this part of the fic planned out for a while now, but these chapters hit a little close to home now after everything that happened in DC this week...

“Cadet! Where do you think you’re going?!”

Well, shit. Cloud hadn’t thought he was going to get caught _that_ quickly. He hadn’t even made it more than 10 floors before the elevator doors slid open, a couple of red-faced officers glaring menacingly his way. Perhaps he should have realized that things wouldn’t go his way – not with the name _Strife_ – but he didn’t have Barret tagging along this time, he was actually being discreet. Sure, there’s still the matter of this so-called ‘invasion’, but Cloud wasn’t even a terrorist anymore – he actually worked here. Still worked here, in fact. That bastard Rufus had made it quite clear that he wasn’t accepting any resignations.

So, sure, maybe it shouldn’t have come as that much of a surprise, and maybe he should have had a backup plan in place, but too late for that now. He’ll just have to hope that his earlier excuse will be good enough. “I was trying to find help, sir! One of the officers on the cadet floors thought he saw some Wutaian rebels, so I was sent for backup!”

Unfortunately, these troopers don’t fall for it hook, line, and sinker like the ones 10 floors down. Sure, they definitely look shocked, but one of them has the frustrating insight to take a step into the elevator to look at the control panel. “Level 50?? What the hell are you thinking, Cadet??”

He’s thinking that he really wants you to get the hell out of his face so that he can finish what he started, but he’s sure _that_ would go over well… Well, all he can hope for is that his shock at being caught – both on the elevator and in a lie – will pass for confusion. “Uhh… I thought SOLDIERs would be my best bet, sir.”

But his cover isn’t good enough this time, and one of the officers has the gall to look exasperated – SOLDIERs would be far better equipped than troopers to handle an invasion force if that really was what this was (which it most likely wasn’t) – while the other drags him bodily from the elevator. “The SOLDIER floor is level 49, dumbass.”

“Oh.”

“What’s your name, Cadet?”

“Uh… Denzel, sir.” Definitely can’t give them his real name – they would know he was lying for sure. How could Sephiroth’s student not know which floor was the SOLDIER floor? “Denzel Wallace.” The name wasn’t entirely a lie, even if it wasn’t actually his – Barret had pretty much been a second father figure for the boy whenever he was around.

The officer who had pulled him from the elevator looks him up and down for a second before addressing his companion. Honestly, what was with these guys and sizing him up? He wasn’t _that_ short. “Go see if Stevens and Ryland really need help. I’ll keep… Denzel here in line.”

Ugh. How would he complete his (self-given) mission now? He knows Heidegger. That man is a ticking time bomb – there’s no telling when he would go off. But if he was alone with Rufus, it would be sooner rather than later. Granted, Cloud would _love_ to punch Rufus himself right now and would so enjoy the schadenfreude of things not working out for the man. But not so much so that he would let Heidegger trample over everything.

But before he can figure out the best way to ditch this loser – can’t be hanging around when they actually do find Stevens and Ryland – he’s tugged unceremoniously from the elevator bay and thrown into a group of already-patrolling troopers. More specifically, he’s more or less tossed into the arms of another cadet in said group of troopers. “Oi, Cadet. Keep an eye on Denzel here. Two peas of a feather pod together and all that.” And with a roll of his eyes, the officer turns on his heel and walks back the way he came.

As the man leaves, Cloud finds he can’t help himself. He really can’t. When the officer rounds the corner, he grumbles to himself, “It’s ‘two peas in a pod’ and ‘birds of a feather flock together’, _idiot._ ” He’s technically still being held upright by the other cadet – at least one of them was prepared – and here he is insulting their ‘commanding’ officer. So much for being discreet.

But the other cadet doesn’t seem to mind, if the gasp and whisper of “Cloud?” in his ear are anything to go by. Oh, thank Gaia. That was Garrett. This would make things _so_ much easier.

Grabbing his roommate’s arm, Cloud steers him around to continue their ‘patrol’. “Denzel right now, actually. Where are the others?”

“No idea. We got separated when all this hullabaloo started. They’re not on this floor, though.” Drat. It would have been easier to slip away if they were all together. But he’ll make do. He just hopes the others didn’t get the short end of the stick when it came to patrol jobs. “What’s going on?”

Cloud snorts – wouldn’t he love to know. “No idea either. But if I know Heidegger, it can’t be anything good.”

Humming, Garrett taps a finger against his cheek in thought. When he gasps surprised, stumbling over himself, Cloud knows the teen had come to the same conclusion he had. Garrett throws an awkward “Oops! Tripped over myself!” to the other troopers, slapping one hand against his helmet in (feigned) embarrassment, before pulling Cloud close again, his voice thankfully back to a whisper. “You mean a coup?”

“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t put it past him. Heidegger _hates_ Rufus and yet he’s taking an ‘elite’ team of troopers to protect him? I don’t buy it.”

Garrett groans and crosses his arms over his chest. “What do we do then?”

“Not we, me. I need to get up there.”

One of Garrett’s hands shoots out to grab his bicep, the look on the teen’s lower face entirely horrified. “Clo— I mean Denzel. They could kill you.”

“I’ll be careful, I promise,” is Cloud’s simple reply as he holds out a pinky for emphasis.

But Garrett is having none of that, the teen bringing up the bothersome observation of “But shouldn’t the President already have protection? No offense, dude, but what can you do?”

“I don’t know if he has protection and I have no idea what I’ll do, but I can’t stick around here. I _know_ Heidegger. Things will not end well if he’s left alone with the President.”

Garret pulls a face, clearly unhappy, for several long moments, before finally and rather reluctantly wrapping his pinky around Cloud’s, giving their joined hands a good shake for show. “Alright… fine. I don’t exactly like this, but I can see your mind’s made up,” he concedes, giving Cloud the most serious look he can manage with his helmet still covering half of his face. “I’m going to hold you to your promise, though. You better be careful.” Cloud’s stiff nod is apparently all the assurance he needs, the ghost of a smirk coming over Garrett’s face. “Now, I guess you need a distraction.”

“Can you do it?”

Garrett almost looks offended at his question. “Can I – ” he scoffs “ – Can I do it, he says. Who do you think I am, buddy?” He pokes a finger into his own chest. “Of course I can do it. But you’ll own me _big_ afterwards.”

Ha, fair enough. “I’ll buy you a piece of that apple cheesecake you like every day for a month.”

The teen practically drools, eyes no doubt wide behind his helmet. “Ooo, I won’t say no to that. But I was talking more about an explanation about what happened to you.”

“Me?”

“When I saw you this morning you were still super insecure – I mean, you totally have every right to be insecure after everything that happened. But I’ve never seen you this confident. Pretty sure I’ve never seen you confident period, but still…”

Cloud can’t help his smile. He’s really glad to have met Garrett and his other ridiculous roommates this time around, people who actually noticed when things were wrong, who _cared_ enough to notice, even if he did have to deal with the absolute _hell_ that was Johnson. “Not sure you’ll believe me. But I’ll tell you everything.”

“Oh, Denzel…” Garrett shakes his head, the look on his lower face mock-patronizing. “Have you not realized by now the things that I will actually believe?” Cloud snorts, but Garrett doesn’t give him the chance to respond. “One distraction coming your way,” the teen practically sings as they approach the stairwell and the officer again, the tone of his voice so mischievous that Cloud can almost imagine the teen winking behind his helmet.

Cloud’s not entirely sure what Garrett does next – or even _how_ he does it – but one minute they’re still ‘patrolling’ and the next Garrett’s dashing forward, bellowing “There you are Wutai scum!!!!”, rifle raised. And everybody listens. Everybody _follows_ , including that dumbass of an officer who can’t even get a single idiom right.

But there’s no time to marvel at his friend’s knack for diversions – he has a job to do. And Cloud has slipped, unnoticed, into the stairwell before Garrett’s even finished yelling “Get back here, you!!! I won’t let you make a mockery of Shinra!!!” And as Cloud starts his long trek up, he can’t help the smirk that splits his face – he owes Garrett _way_ more than a month’s worth of dessert for this.

.

.

.

Stairs.

Gaia. Cloud _hates_ stairs. Not even the short respite on level 50 made things better. But at least he has a more complete picture of things. If the cadet floor, the floor he saw Garrett on, and level 50 are anything to go by, then Heidegger has troopers on every level. Every. single. level. Of course he had to make things difficult for Cloud. And if that wasn’t bad enough, it would appear that the elevators were being guarded, too – makes sense, but once again, not helpful for Cloud. But, whatever, he can make do.

After what feels like an absolute eternity, he finally makes it to the 59th floor, entirely ready to collapse. Gaia, no wonder Barret was so adamant about taking the elevator last time – Cloud feels like his lungs are on fire and he wouldn’t be surprised if his legs fell off right then and there. And that’s _with_ all the extra endurance training Sephiroth pushed him through. He so misses his enhancements. Not Hojo, though. Never Hojo.

Coming to a stop right before the exit to the floor, he activates the sense materia he had borrowed and scans the floor. Through the door. He’ll have to thank Yuffie for that handy little trick later, he had only ever scanned an enemy to their face. But now, now he knows exactly how many troopers are on the floor. But, even better, he knows exactly where they are. He would have preferred to have his enhanced hearing back – he almost feels deaf without it – but, once again, he’ll take no enhancements over Hojo any day.

The picture the Scan output paints is not the most reassuring. He can see that there are 12 troopers patrolling the hall – half on one side, half on the other – and another handful guarding the elevator bay. If he doesn’t want to risk alerting everybody on the floor to his presence, he should probably avoid cutting through the elevator bay in the middle, then. But how does he get around?

Watching the Scan output for a few moments more, he can feel a shit-eating grin stretch over his face as he realizes exactly how those 12 troopers are patrolling. They’re just doing a continuous, unchanging loop around the hall. And with the elevator bay in the middle, neither group has any visual on the other. That makes his job simple.

Waiting a few seconds more, once the closest group passes the stairwell, he glides silently out of the door, falling effortlessly into step behind them. Just like the Junon parade all over again. He has to stop himself from snorting at the thought – it had been rather hilarious to have been so close to Rufus without the other even suspecting a thing.

As he follows the troopers through the hall, Cloud swears he can almost see Tifa and Barret staring out of the large glass windows there; can almost hear Barret complaining about the ‘damn fools’ who were bleeding the planet dry, who were only interested in taking in the night view – _Terrible, but beautiful all the same._ Even without the night view, Skyview Hall is just as beautiful as he remembers. And Cloud finds all he wants to do is stop, to see what Midgar looks like in the daylight. He reigns himself in, though. Doesn’t give himself any time to gawk, acting instead like the perfect soldier he most definitely was not.

His presence goes unnoticed as they turn the corner, the troopers he’s more or less hijacked not even realizing they have a stowaway, Cloud’s footsteps absolutely silent behind them. And when they reach the card reader leading to the restricted part of the floor, Cloud quietly breaks away as the rest of the troopers continue down the hallway. He’s surprised they don’t hear the little _beep_ as he scans his borrowed keycard, but whatever. Easier for him.

There’s not a soul on this side of the floor, no troopers patrolling – which doesn’t seem thorough, but who’s he to complain – no run-of-the-mill employees gazing down upon Midgar from above. The latter might have more to do with the ‘invasion’, though, everybody sheltering-in-place and all that.

Coming to a stop right before exiting into the escalator and VIP elevator bay, Cloud hides behind a pillar, out of view of the patrolling troopers back the way he came, but more importantly out of view of anybody who might be lurking around the corner. He casts Scan once more – his unenhanced ears still frustratingly useless – and nearly groans at the results he gets. Of course the VIP elevators would be guarded, too. Why would he think – hope – differently? He had already guessed that there would be troopers on each floor.

As he casts Scan at the next floor up, his suspicions are confirmed – there are troopers guarding the elevators on that floor, too. And probably on every floor above it. Sighing, he runs a hand through his hair. He would love to just knock out the guards on this floor and take the elevator the rest of the way up, but it was all glass and very, very see-through. He already had problems with the enclosed, public elevator. With troopers guarding each level, and with how his name is cursed – his _entire_ life was proof of that – it wouldn’t take a genius to guess how well taking the elevator would go… His excuse had already failed once and he no longer has Garrett to help out.

Guess he’s doing this the hard way then.

Making liberal use of the confuse materia he had picked up, he sneaks up floor after floor, the troopers on the other side of each set of escalators none the wiser to his presence. And with the keycard he had grabbed, at least he doesn’t have to play the tourist this time. He might have shot himself if he had to stroll through that gaudy-ass museum again. He’s willing to bet all the gil in his bank account – a depressingly small amount right now, he’s sure of it – that Rufus had tossed his father’s gilded statue out. But Cloud has no desire to find out if the man had replaced it with his own likeness. He already lost his breakfast twice today, the third time would _not_ be the charm.

His ascent passes without a hitch for the first few floors and Cloud’s just thought that things never go this perfectly, when his luck runs out on the 64th floor, Cloud having effectively jinxed himself. Casting Confuse without thinking, it takes him longer than would be useful to notice that his spell didn’t go as planned. It’s only the angry “What the hell do you think you’re doing??” that has him realizing that only one of the two troopers is swaying, eyes glazed over. The other one apparently has protection against confusion… and looks less than pleased with Cloud’s sudden appearance. Oops.

Their stand-off continues for a few long moments – Cloud’s eyes wide, the trooper’s face red – until the trooper fumbles with his equipment, providing Cloud with all the motivation he needs to pull himself out of his own self-inflicted stupor. He hastily casts Sleep – _please work_ – just as the trooper cocks his rifle. Cloud nearly thanks any and all gods listening when the spell actually takes hold, not only on the trigger-happy trooper, but on his still-confused counterpart, the two collapsing together almost comically, helmeted heads knocking against one another as they crumple to the floor.

The rifle luckily doesn’t go off, but the clattering of the troopers to the floor – and perhaps the one trooper’s earlier shouting – are enough to alert their counterparts a floor down. The counterparts who apparently have already recovered from their own confusion.

“Hey, what’s going on up there??”

Well, shit. Even without his enhanced hearing, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that one or both of those troopers will be up here in a minute. He could probably take them, even without his enhanced strength and older body, but he still doesn’t know if there’s anybody else patrolling this floor and if they had heard the commotion, too. Time is of the essence, he needs to keep moving.

Unfortunately, he had already come to the end of the escalators, so he didn’t have that going for him. He had been tempted to say screw it and take the elevator the last 5 floors and just hope that his luck held out, but he guesses he’ll just have to ditch that plan. No time to wait for the elevator to arrive now. But at least he knows another way to get to the top of the Tower. He just wishes it didn’t involve going through the labs. Though, he supposes he shouldn’t be that surprised – his day was already proving to stink worse than a juiced-up Malboro’s foul breath.

As he dashes over to the hidden entrance to the labs and swipes his borrowed keycard, he can hear the pounding of feet from _both_ sides – good thing he had abandoned the elevator idea. He barely has the time to throw himself into the labs, the doors sliding shut behind him just as a shout of “What happened here??” echoes throughout the hallway he had just come from. Well, at least he wasn’t spotted. He’ll take what he can get.

Slipping into an alcove just past the entrance, he tries to regain his bearings (and resolve) before heading deeper into the labs. He half-expected the keycard not to work, though he’s not entirely sure whether that has more to do with the fact that he _really_ doesn’t want to be here or because of how the rest of his day (and week) had already been going. But he guesses Sephiroth has access everywhere. Good thing he picked up the man’s spare keycard – he could totally kiss the General right now.

It’s not until he’s activated the sense materia again and taken a step towards the exit of the alcove that his words catch up with him. Jerking violently, Cloud finds himself stumbling over thin air and having to brace himself against the wall to avoid becoming acquainted with the floor… again. What was he thinking?? Him kiss Sephiroth?? No. No. Absolutely not. If he was going to kiss anybody, it would be Vincent for teaching him how to be so sneaky. Wait… No. That still sounds wrong. Ok, new plan – he’s not kissing anybody. Ever.

The journey from the entrance on the 64th floor to the sublevel of Hojo’s lab – well, Hojo’s no longer – the next floor up goes easily and uneventfully enough, though a good part of that is probably because he very specifically does not focus on the mako tanks that seem to be absolutely everywhere. He does not need to have any more nightmarish visions of Hojo today… or ever again, preferably.

It’s only when he’s ducked behind some crates to avoid the lurking scientists – crates near where Nanaki had been held (would be held?) captive – that he allows himself to be distracted. Or, more specifically, he finds his attention ripped from him by the scientists he had been monitoring. He had only been eavesdropping to avoid them better, but listening in on their conversation couldn’t hurt.

“Stability at 5%??” A slapping sound rings throughout the lab – perhaps one of the scientists hitting a mako tank, like Hojo always did with him… Ok, stop thinking about him. Now. “How are we supposed to freeze this entire thing?”

“We’ve done it before!”

“Materia, you mean?” The man scoffs. “That’s small-scale – no, miniature-scale compared to this! How are we supposed to freeze the entire thing?? And with a living creature inside of it, no less! What is the President thinking??”

“Would you prefer Hojo?”

Another scoff – far more incredulous this time. “Of course I wouldn’t prefer that lunatic! But this is just…” The man trails off, groaning exasperated.

“I know… But the President believes in us.” Cloud nearly snorts – was that supposed to be comforting? This darling apparently hadn’t lost his positive outlook on life… or Shinra. “And at least we’re not the ones in charge of altering the SOLDIER serum.”

Unfortunately, that’s the exact moment the two walk back the way Cloud had just come, their volume reaching a level that Cloud’s unenhanced hearing can’t pick up on. Drat. It was just getting good. Guess he’ll just have to shake Rufus down for information later. Information on both the new SOLDIER serum and this freezing mako business. But, first things first. He needs to make sure that Rufus actually lives long enough for him to get some answers.

Continuing his silent creeping through the sublevel and to the service elevator, he somehow makes it to the main level of the labs without further ado and without being detected – he’s not sure whether he should be happy or exasperated that security was so lax. But then he is stopped once more by the sight of the glass cage Aerith had been kept in. He’s so glad she won’t have to deal with that creep anymore.

So lost in his memories as he is, Cloud doesn’t realize the danger lurking on the floor until it’s growling behind him. Turning as slowly as he can manage to avoid provoking whatever is there, he comes face-to-face (face-to-muzzle?) with something he wasn’t expecting to see again. Granted, the bluish-purple canine in front of him is a lot smaller and softer-looking than he remembers, but there’s no mistaking those glowing, red eyes. “Darkstar, is that you?”

The growling stops, the guard dog – guard puppy? – leveling him with what can only be a calculating look, head tilted to the side, as if trying to figure out if he knows Cloud. He doesn’t, but Cloud takes advantage of his momentary confusion anyway, ever so slowly removing his helmet and placing both it and his rifle on the ground, kneeling down in front of the guard puppy to seem like less of a threat – he really doesn’t feel like getting bitten today. “It’s ok, Darkstar. I’m just trying to save your daddy… from himself, probably.” If he knew Rufus, the man had probably called all of this trouble down on himself by being an insufferable asshole.

That assurance – or Cloud’s unhelmeted head – seems to be enough to catch the dog’s attention, Darkstar padding up to him cautiously, red eyes searching Cloud’s face for the answer to some question Cloud doesn’t know. He can’t worry about that now, though – he still needs to get to the top of the Tower – and instead he holds out a hand tentatively for the guard puppy to sniff. But, of course, that’s when everything takes a turn for the weird again. The moment Darkstar gets a good whiff of him, it’s like a switch has been flipped. Tension drains from the dog’s entire frame, pointed ears no longer pulled taut, as he lets out an excited bark.

“Uhh… what?”

Cloud’s lack of eloquence is missed – or taken as encouragement – Darkstar letting out another pleased bark and lowering his chest to the ground, behind wiggling in the air, head tentacle wagging back and forth happily. Cloud finds he can’t help his snort at the sight. “Not going to try to take a bite out of my ass this time?”

Darkstar barks again as if to say that his ass-biting days are behind him. Shaking his head at the dog, Cloud holds his hand out once more. When Darkstar still doesn’t bite him and, in fact, seems to encourage the move, Cloud scratches the guard puppy above his head tentacle, Darkstar going instantly limp under his touch, eyes half-lidded, back leg thumping the ground as Cloud continues his ministrations. “Ok, you’re cute.”

“His training isn’t complete yet.”

Dread fills his veins at the sound of the unexpected voice, his body going as tense as a drawn bowstring, his breathing stuttering to a stop when he turns and takes in the unwelcome sight of a lab coat and glasses.

_Just sit back and enjoy the show!_

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It’s not until Cloud has forcefully dragged himself from his trauma-filled memories – Hojo’s dead, he can’t hurt you anymore – that he notices a few important things. One, the scientist standing before him is most definitely not Hojo, he’s much too young and innocent-looking, and Hojo far too dead, for that. And two, the rumbling he’s hearing is not mako roaring through his veins, through his ears, but rather Darkstar growling at the scientist, the guard puppy positioned protectively in front of Cloud, as if the scientist was the intruder and not Cloud.

The scientist tries to calm the newly-agitated dog – “Darkstar, you remember who I am, don’t you?” – but Cloud can tell the man won’t make it out of this uninjured and with a bite- and slobber-free lab coat without some extra assistance. Not even his hatred of Hojo – and people in lab coats in general – is enough to keep him from placing what he can only hope is a comforting hand on the guard puppy’s shoulder and gently scolding him. “Come now, Darkstar. There’s no need to act like that. You know who he is, don’t you?”

Darkstar whines, wide red eyes staring sadly up at him. Cloud nearly sighs – it was hard enough for him when Denzel or Marlene did that, but now he has an actual dog giving him puppy dog eyes. “Hey now, don’t give me that look.” His voice is soft as he rubs circles in between Darkstar’s shoulder blades. “I really appreciate you trying to protect me, you’re such a good boy. But he won’t hurt me.” The scientist better not even try – he wouldn’t know what hit him (and possibly bit him) if he did.

When Darkstar finally calms down once more and lowers himself to sit on his haunches, the scientist seems to take it as permission to size Cloud up, the man looking him up and down thoughtfully. Cloud finds he _really_ does not like the action, especially coming from somebody in a lab coat… He definitely doesn’t need another reminder of Hojo and the creep wanting to turn him into a _plaything_ for Sephiroth.

“I was going to call the guards, but I’ve never seen Darkstar act like that with anybody but the President.” Cloud tries to hide the twitch that that comment stirs up. He hates being compared to that bastard, but at least it wasn’t Cid doing it this time – his comrade had been rather incessant with his comparisons once he realized just how much it pissed Cloud off. “But I still must ask what you are doing here,” the scientist claims, the man keeping his posture relaxed for Darkstar’s sake as he casually grills Cloud.

Rising to his full height – which, sadly, is still fun-sized – Cloud keeps a hand on Darkstar to calm the guard puppy… and perhaps himself, too. He really does not like being in the labs again. “I believe Hei—excuse me, _Director_ Heidegger is trying to instigate a coup to oust the President.”

The scientist’s eyes narrow, obviously not pleased with the answer, but the man doesn’t contradict him… at least not yet. “And what proof do you have?”

“Physical proof? None, really. But there are troopers on every single level, patrolling the floors, guarding the elevators. One of the officers said something about hundreds of Wutaian rebels infiltrating the Tower, but I’ve been all over this building and haven’t seen a single one.”

“And the Director?”

“He’s the one who raised the alarm and ordered this rather excessive guarding of the Tower. He’s also apparently assembled an elite team to ‘protect’ the President.” He’s not entirely successful at keeping all the cynicism from his tone and he doesn’t even try to stop himself from air-quoting the end of his sentence. He really can’t stand Heidegger.

The scientist sighs and crosses his arms in front of his chest, but doesn’t seem to be offended by Cloud’s show of disrespect. Well, at least he hadn’t run into another Heidegger fan. “And I take it you don’t believe that’s what he’s actually doing.”

“I would love to believe that’s what he’s doing.” No, he wouldn’t – he would much rather confront Hojo again, unenhanced, before he trusted Heidegger with anybody’s protection. As much as he can’t stand Rufus, he’ll admit President Rufus has a much nicer ring to it than President Heidegger – especially if these tales of Rufus working with Avalanche to better the slums and find alternative energy sources were true. “But everybody knows how much Director Heidegger hates the President. I can’t imagine him willingly protecting the President, much less assembling an elite team to do so. Why not just leave the President’s protection to the Turks and SOLDIERs?”

The scientist bows his head, seemingly deep in thought. “And if…” The man sighs again. “And if I were to believe you, why aren’t you leaving the President’s protection to the Turks and SOLDIERs yourself? Shouldn’t they be ample protection, even if this elite team of the Director’s turns rogue?” Although he’s no doubt thinking it, the scientist doesn’t comment on Cloud’s status as a cadet and how he wouldn’t be that much help anyway, for which Cloud is rather grateful.

“I’m not sure who all is with the President right now, but I just have this really bad feeling. Something in my gut tells me I need to be there.” That and his memories of the Sector 7 plate drop. “Yes, the Turks and SOLDIERs should be ample protection, if they’re there. But at what cost? I don’t want any of the troopers losing their lives because of the Director’s ambitions. They might be more willing to listen to me since I’m one of them.”

“Alright, fine.” Cloud’s not sure whether it’s his words or the resolve in his eyes that finally convince the man to cave, but at least he doesn’t have to leave behind a trail of sleeping scientists, too… as fun as that would be. “I’m willing to turn the other way and pretend like I never saw you.” The man holds up a finger. “On one condition, though. Promise me you won’t do anything reckless.”

“Yes, sir.” Aww, this guy was so cute. He really has no idea who he’s talking to. Tifa would laugh her head off if she was here. And would probably tell some rather embarrassing stories, too, to underline just how reckless Cloud was wont to be.

“Good.” The man waits for him to collect his helmet and rifle again before springing some real psychological-warfare bullshit on him. “I can tell what the General sees in you.” The scientist seems to take his disgusted spluttering as surprise, the man chuckling as Cloud tries to compose himself again. “No need for alarm. I’m pretty sure all of Midgar knows who you are by now.”

Cloud’s not sure how _that’s_ supposed to make him feel better, but he somehow manages to keep the nausea at bay. “Great…”

“I take it you don’t care for the attention.”

“Not exactly…” He also doesn’t particularly care for Sephiroth – well, aside from a _dead_ Sephiroth – but best to keep that to himself for now.

It’s not until the scientist has led him to the elevator that will take him to the top of the Tower – not that he needed the help, but he’ll play along – that Cloud builds up the courage to ask, “Why are you helping me?” Granted, perhaps not the wisest question given the fact that the man had just agreed to let him pass, but curiosity killed the cat and all that. It was one thing with Garrett, but he had never met this man before.

The man gives him another long calculating look before answering. “There’s something about you that just feels trustworthy. Besides, Darkstar likes you,” the man gestures to the guard puppy who is still practically glued to Cloud’s side. “I very much doubt he would act like that if you had any ulterior motives. And, well, if you managed to make it all the way here by yourself, maybe you know what you’re doing.”

Cloud certainly hopes he knows what he’s doing – he’s so tired of cleaning up after Rufus – as he returns his helmet to his head and gets on the elevator. Or tries to, at least, Darkstar still at his heels as he steps through the doors. Turning to the lovable boy – he kinda wants to keep him now, especially since it would really piss Rufus off – he gently pushes the guard puppy out of the elevator and back into the labs, specifically ignoring the way his heart clenches at the pitiful whine Darkstar lets out. “Hey, I would love to take you with me, but I need the element of surprise if I’m going to save your daddy. Ok?”

Darkstar still looks unhappy, but doesn’t try to get on the elevator again, so Cloud takes it as reluctant acceptance – this dog is seriously smart. “I promise I’ll come back later and say hi.” Remembering he technically wasn’t allowed in the labs, he turns a questioning look the scientist’s way. “If that’s ok?”

The man chuckles at him and shakes his head. “You’ll have to ask the President, but I can’t imagine he would say no – I can see the resemblance.”

Left with that cryptic message, Cloud watches entirely dumbfounded as the doors to the elevator slide shut and he continues his ascent to the top of the Tower.

When he arrives, the 69th floor is surprisingly and disturbingly quiet – at least from what he can hear – no sound nor sign of Heidegger or the team he brought to ‘protect’ the President, no troopers guarding the elevators. Meaning they were all most likely in the President’s office. He needs to hurry.

It’s only when he’s turned the corner and started approaching the glass doors leading to the secretary’s desk that Cloud realizes just what had happened to the absent troopers. One leans against the desk, appearing to be flirting heavily with the poor, overwhelmed secretary, while his friend fidgets next to him.

“Come on, dude. We need to get back to our posts. They said somebody might be on their way up here. Some trouble on the 64th floor or something.”

The flirting trooper abandons his hormone-driven task to shake his head at his partner. “You worry too much. That was _ages_ ago.”

“It was like 10 minutes ago.”

“Exactly! They would have been here by now. And even if they’re super slow for some reason, we’ll hear them in plenty of time.”

_Sure you will_ , Cloud thinks, casting Sleep at the same time, the troopers under his spell before the glass doors have even opened. He could have put the secretary under, too, but he doesn’t want to leave her vulnerable if that creepy trooper wakes before she does.

But this of course means that the secretary is now staring at him terrified – after squeaking and jumping out of the way of the falling troopers first, that is. Holding his hands up in front of him in what he can only hope won’t startle her more, he takes a step forward and then another until the glass doors shut behind him. “Sorry about that. Are you ok, miss?”

“I… W-who are you??”

Oh, she still has a spine to her. Good. Though it would be a lot easier if she just listened to him and let him pass, but whatever. Perhaps leeching off of the General’s fame again would be the easiest thing right now. And as he removes his helmet, the secretary’s surprised “You…!” is rather reassuring – hopefully he won’t have to spend too long here. “My name’s Cloud Strife, miss. I’m General Sephiroth’s student.” Surprisingly, he manages to make it through the entire sentence without gagging or pulling a face, but the stars that have appeared in the woman’s eyes as he finishes introducing himself are enough to make his stomach churn uncomfortably. He definitely won’t be getting used to, nor feeling comfortable about, any of this anytime soon. “Is Director Heidegger in the President’s office?”

The woman nods, distressed. “He and what looked like an entire platoon of troopers stormed through here without so much as a how do you do. I tried to tell him that the President wasn’t taking visitors, but he just yelled to get out of his face.”

Ah. Poor thing. Nobody deserved having that buffoon spit in their face. “I need to go up there to make sure everything’s ok.”

“But, Sephiroth and the other 1sts are up there! The President should be ok, right?”

Cloud almost grimaces – of course Sephiroth was up there. Guess he would have to deal with him sooner rather than later. So much for avoiding him. “He should be, but I don’t want the other troopers getting hurt because of the Director. I think they’ll listen to me.” The woman nods, believing him readily for some reason, but at least it makes his life easier. “I don’t want you getting hurt either, miss, if something goes wrong. Is there any place you can hide? Preferably a room with a door that locks.”

The secretary looks understandably concerned, but at least she doesn’t dissolve into tears. Nodding nervously, she answers, “Y-yes, there is.”

“Good. Go there, lock the door, and don’t come out until I tell you it’s safe. Understand?”

He escorts the woman to her hiding spot, making sure the door is actually locked before returning his helmet to his head and dashing up the stairs, the unsettling roar of “SO?? YOU OUTNUMBER HIM!! PUT A BULLET THROUGH HIS BRAIN!!” only spurring him on faster. That was definitely Heidegger.

A flight of stairs and another bellowing of “SO HARD TO FIND GOOD HELP!!” later, Cloud hurls himself through the doors to Rufus’s office just in time to see Heidegger tearing a rifle from an unsuspecting trooper’s hands and Sephiroth unsheathing Masamune in defense of the President. Blinking the raging inferno from his eyes – now was **not** the time to think about Nibelheim – Cloud watches as Heidegger fumbles with the weapon. “I’LL DO IT MYSELF!!”

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_Bang!_

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It’s only when Heidegger’s lifeless body crumples to the floor – a single bullet through his head – and everybody in the room, platoon of troopers included, turn to find the gunman responsible that Cloud realizes that perhaps he didn’t think things through completely. So much for not doing anything reckless. Oh well, Heidegger had it coming.

Telegraphing his every move, Cloud carefully and ever so slowly lowers his still-smoking rifle to the floor, before straightening back up and addressing everybody in the room. “I hope nobody has a problem with that. He was getting on my nerves.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, personally I like the name Darkstar better than Dark Nation, though that might just be because it reminds me of 'Death Star', lol. If anybody likes Dark Nation better, feel free to read his name as Dark Nation instead and to call him Dark Nation in the comments (if you want to leave a comment) 🙂


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I know some of you have been waiting for this chapter since a few chapters ago, so I hope the wait was worth it!  
> \- Also, parts of this chapter might resonate a bit with the Capitol riots that happened almost two weeks ago. This chapter was written several days before the riots happened and the plot was developed long before that, so I kept everything as-is. Please keep this in mind as you read and I'm sorry if it feels a little too soon for anybody.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

The angry officer and the rifle in his face – well, rifles if Cloud was being honest, more than one trooper having turned their weapon his way – were less than reassuring, but at least Hewley had stopped Zack from rushing to his side. It would probably be easier to turn things around if he did all the talking. He can’t imagine the troopers would be entirely willing to believe that Heidegger was evil if the accusation came from the SOLDIERs and Turks assigned to protect the President. No, it would be better if it came from somebody they could still consider ‘one of their own’ – thankfully he hadn’t removed his helmet yet, they had no idea who he was.

“Saving you from becoming accessories to treason,” Cloud claims, an unsettled rumbling going through the ranks of the troopers.

“Treason?? What do you mean??” The officer yells as one of the cadets who hadn’t raised his rifle lets out a small gasp. Cloud is half-convinced he knows the cadet’s voice, but he really hopes Colin hadn’t gotten caught up in this mess.

“This is a coup, isn’t it?”

“A c-coup??” The cadet from before squeaks. And, oh dear, that _was_ Colin. Good thing Cloud hadn’t left everything to Sephiroth – he might be down a roommate if he had.

“Well, I mean the Director was the one who came up with this farcical tale of a Wutaian invasion and then brought you all up here. I figured that meant he was planning to kill the President and wrench control of Shinra from him.” Realization dawns in the Turks’ eyes, the three of them probably knowing where he was going with this – he had been trained by a former Turk after all. And he would bet money that Sephiroth knows what he’s up to, as well, but he’s so not ready to look at the man right now.

The officer in front of him shakes, the man still angry and his rifle still pointed at Cloud’s face, but at least the troopers who had followed his lead before had long since lowered their own. “Farcical?! A friend of mine saw them! Said there was a hundred of those bastards!”

It’s a good thing that Cloud still has his helmet on, especially since he hadn’t been able to stop himself from rolling his eyes, _hard_. Had this guy gotten his information from that dumbass on the cadet floors? He’s tempted to sigh, too, but he’s not sure how well the officer would take it, especially with the barrel of the man’s rifle still staring Cloud in the face. “I have literally been all over this Tower and I haven’t seen a single Wutaian rebel.” How many times was he going to have to say that today?

“They’re hiding obviously!”

“If I may.” The officer spins at the sound of the new voice, his eyes and rifle landing on Tseng, the Turk half-shielding his President, gun held at his side. Cloud’s not sure what the officer thinks he’s doing – even if he was able to land a hit with how his hands are shaking, Tseng could have him dead long before the trooper even cocked his rifle. “There aren’t a hundred Wutaian militants, there isn’t even one. Just a little girl running around the 64th floor who seems to be under the impression that she needs to avenge Wutai.”

Oh Gaia. That _was_ Yuffie. Cloud’s not sure whether he wants to laugh or cry – what had she done now? – but he plays it cool and passes his exasperation (amusement?) off as confusion. He knows how to play this game, he can’t let anybody realize that he or any of his other time-traveling buddies – _gah_ , he needs to find a better term – know who Yuffie is. “How did she get that high?”

“Director Heidegger said it must have been an inside job.”

“Hmm.” Cloud bows his head, one hand on his chin, and pretends to be deep in thought. He already knows how he wants to spin this, but he can’t have the troopers thinking that this was all rehearsed. After a sufficient amount of time has passed, his head bounces back up, Cloud acting for those watching as if a lightbulb had just gone off. “Oh!” He slams a fist into the palm of his other hand. “What if the Director snuck her in here and then set her loose?”

“Take that back! Director Heidegger would never!” Oh goodness, looks like Cloud had found another Heidegger lover. He almost feels bad for the guy – he knows first-hand how much it hurts to find out that your hero is not who you thought they were, and he has the trauma to prove it. But the man has no idea the lengths Heidegger would go to, the lives he was willing to destroy to get his way. True, Heidegger hadn’t done what Cloud was accusing him of, but it undoubtedly was something he _would_ do, if him having the plate dropped and then blaming it on Wutai was anything to go by. It doesn’t stop the man’s face from turning red, though, the officer yelling at him again. “They attacked him!”

Wait, what? Cloud hadn’t heard that part of the story. “Attacked him?”

“The Director wasn’t attacked.” To the rest of the troopers in the room, Tseng probably looks calm, relaxed, at ease. But even from where he’s standing, Cloud can see the tension in the man’s shoulders, in his jaw, not to mention the way his finger twitches around the pistol in his hand. But with the threat to Rufus, no wonder. “At least not intentionally. The girl was trying to kill Sephiroth, but the Director showed up at the exact moment she attacked and assumed that he was the target.”

Yuffie attacked Sephiroth? Oh boy. Cloud knows he shouldn’t find this so amusing… but he does. He so owes the girl a big hug once this was all over.

“It was the President’s fault! Heidegger said so himself!” The officer argues, looking through the ranks of troopers desperately for any sign of support. He doesn’t find any, though, the other troopers actively avoiding his gaze. “We all know how much the President hated him!”

Cloud can’t stop his sigh this time – this officer was treading _dangerous_ waters – but at least there wasn’t a rifle in Cloud’s face anymore, the weapon hanging limply in front of the trooper as he continues his search for somebody – anybody – who would be willing to join his one-way trip to the inside of a body bag (courtesy of the Turks). Well, hopefully Cloud can fix things – as annoying as this officer is, Cloud doesn’t feel like seeing anybody else die today. “Which came first, the Chocobo or the egg?”

“W-What?”

“We all know how much the President hated him, yes, but Director Heidegger wasn’t shy about his hatred, either. Everybody knows that he held no respect for President Rufus. Perhaps the President only hated the Director because he disrespected him first.” That and because Heidegger was a bumbling idiot, but that wouldn’t help anything right now. “But regardless, what use would the President have for a child to be tearing through the Tower wreaking chaos? It certainly wouldn’t inspire confidence in his ability to keep Midgar safe.” The officer fidgets in place, clearly unhappy with Cloud’s counter-argument, but at least he seems less inclined to flirt with sedition now, even if he doesn’t seem entirely convinced of Heidegger’s culpability. Hopefully Cloud could change that. “Come on, Director Heidegger just happens to arrive at the exact moment that this girl goes crazy? Doesn’t that seem highly suspect to you? The Director would have been the only person to have anything to gain here.”

“Wait,” another cadet in the group says and, oh, Cloud finally knows what happened to Logan. At least he and Colin were able to stick together. “Are you saying the Director was trying to undermine confidence in President Rufus’s governing?”

Cloud nods. “A little subversion to go along with the treason.”

“He tried to get us to join in, too,” Colin chimes in. “He wanted us to arrest the President. Told us to shoot anybody that resisted.” You know what, Cloud’s actually glad that his roommates are here. Now he has troopers to help lead his narrative.

“Oh, sedition, too? Sounds like we’ve got a royal flush in betraying your country!”

“But, but…” The officer tries again, no longer content to wait quietly on the sidelines. “Director Heidegger said the President killed his own father!”

“Isn’t that just a rumor in Midgar, though?” Colin asks. “I’m from Mideel and we only ever heard that former President Shinra died of natural causes.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Cloud plays the part of being deep in thought again. “Maybe that was the Director’s doing, too.”

Logan gasps. “You don’t think his plan went back that far, do you?”

“It’s brilliant, isn’t it?” Cloud can’t believe he’s using the word ‘brilliant’ to describe that idiot, even if it was all just a big farce. “He plants the seed that the President isn’t as innocent as he seems – ” Cloud feels a little nauseous associating Rufus with ‘innocent’, too – “and then lets the idea grow and fester for a year before unleashing all of this.”

“A c-coup…?” The officer finally sounds about as queasy as the rest of the troopers in the room look, save Logan and Colin – though, they might have already guessed what Cloud was up to.

“Well, I mean…” Cloud grimaces as he trails off, not entirely sure how to put this delicately. “No offense, but this is hardly what I would call an elite team,” Cloud says, gesturing to the troopers in front of him. “I only see a few high-ranking people here, including you, sir. The rest are cadets and low-ranking troopers. If the Director’s goal really was to protect the President, wouldn’t he have been better served to have gone for all high-ranking, highly-skilled infantrymen?”

“Y-you… you mean…?”

“What I mean is that it’s suicide to go up against four 1st Class SOLDIERs and three Turks, especially when one of those SOLDIERs is Sephiroth. You would be skewered before you even realized that the man had moved.” Oh, and does Cloud have some first-hand experience with that… “Even a platoon of highly-skilled troopers wouldn’t stand a chance. Director Heidegger would have known this.” Honestly, Cloud’s pretty sure the dumbass wouldn’t have. “He probably only brought along the troopers he didn’t mind sacrificing if things went poorly.”

“I-I…” The officer’s rifle isn’t the only one that goes clattering to the floor, the troopers growing increasingly disturbed with the tale Cloud was spinning. He kinda feels bad for springing this on them, but while he was lying about Heidegger’s actions, he wasn’t lying about the man’s character. Heidegger didn’t care about those under him and would probably have gotten the troopers killed if Cloud hadn’t forcefully deescalated the situation.

“Like I said, I’ve been all over this Tower. I haven’t seen a single Wutaian rebel, but I also haven’t seen any SOLDIERs or Turks running around. If this really was an invasion, why wasn’t anybody else notified? Why wasn’t the entire Tower put on high alert – SOLDIERs, Turks, and infantry alike?”

That proves to be enough to finally put the nail in the coffin, a distressed murmuring going through the crowd as those troopers who don’t look like they’re about to throw up trip over one another to apologize to the President. Rufus waves their worries off with a flick of his hand, the man playing the ever-magnanimous lord. “Please let everybody know that this was just a false alarm. I will handle everything from here on out.”

Cloud nearly snorts, he gets the feeling that he himself will actually be the one handling everything, but whatever, he wouldn’t want to leave Yuffie’s care to anybody else – she probably wouldn’t listen to anybody else, anyway. So instead, he watches silently as the troopers shakily salute and throw out a poorly rehearsed, “Y-Yes, s-sir!” before turning to file out of the room.

“Thanks for stopping us,” Logan says for the room to hear, but then there’s an arm on Cloud’s bicep, pulling him in as Logan whispers in his ear, “We need to talk later.”

“Of course. Glad I got here in time,” Cloud returns easily. Colin stands awkwardly to the side, looking like he wants to say something as well, but Cloud just offers a small nod in response – hopefully that would be good enough for now. He guesses he shouldn’t be that surprised. If Garrett had picked up on his change, then of course Logan and Colin would too.

The officer is the last to leave, the man stopping before Cloud and not so subtly sizing him up, his mouth opening as if he wants to say something. But Cloud doesn’t find out whatever it is, the man shaking his head and offering a weak “Thanks…” before following after the rest of the troopers.

When the doors to the President’s office slide shut, when Cloud can no longer hear the clomping of boots, he turns his attention back to Rufus, ripping his helmet off in the process and tossing it to the side. As it clatters across the floor, rolling forgotten behind one of the pillars, Cloud stalks towards the President, his eyes never leaving the man’s face as he steps calmly around Heidegger’s freshly decaying body.

Rufus raises an eyebrow, gesturing to the dead body on the floor. “Are you just going to leave that there?”

Cloud hopes his face shows just how fed up he is, how done he is with all this shit – with _Rufus’s_ shit. “I just cleaned up another one of your messes, Rufus. I’m not touching that.” Grimacing down at the still bleeding body, he adds, “Have Reno or Rude do it, they’re used to getting their hands dirty.”

“Hey, rude, yo!”

Cloud very nearly makes a joke about Reno’s partner’s name, but figures it’s not the time for that. Instead, he keeps his attention on Rufus, twitching as smug amusement finds its way back onto the man’s face now that the threat to his life has ended. “So you do remember then.” It’s not a question, but Cloud offers a small, sharp nod anyways. He immediately regrets doing so, though, once he sees the self-satisfied smirk that is his reward. “Is it because I told you I ow— ”

“I swear to Gaia, Rufus. If you finish that sentence, I will punch you in the face.”

“Oh? Do you really think you would get away with that?” the man responds easily, waving a hand at the Turks and SOLDIERs still surrounding him.

“I’ll take my chances. It seems pretty clear that you need me, so I can’t imagine I would get into that much trouble. And it would make me feel a _whole_ lot better – so win, win.” Cloud shrugs before making a show of sizing up Rufus’s protection – not Sephiroth, though, he still can’t handle that right now. When all he’s met with are stunned looks from the other SOLDIERs in the room, he offers Rufus a smirk of his own. “Besides, I’m pretty sure half of the people in this room wouldn’t even try to stop me. And, well…” he trails off, throwing his smirk Reno’s way, delighting in the way the red-head tenses at the sight of him. “If I couldn’t handle a Turk, I’d probably throw myself from the plate.”

“Why you!” As expected, Reno does not take the slight against his battle prowess well, the man’s face turning a shade of red that could rival his hair as he charges at Cloud, electro-mag rod raised.

Cloud’s not entirely sure what Reno hopes to accomplish, they’ve fought enough that Cloud knows all his moves. But he still watches calmly as the red-head swiftly approaches, easily sidestepping the hot-headed Turk once he’s finally within range, Reno going stumbling past. “You’re only proving my point,” he chides, keeping one eye on the red-head – too bad he couldn’t lock him out this time like back at Healen Lodge – and the other on his partner, just in case Rude decided to attack, too, though the bald man looks much too exasperated with Reno for that. Cloud probably doesn’t need to worry about Tseng, either; last he checked, the man was still hovering next to Rufus.

Reno grumbles as he regains his footing – some of which is probably due to Rufus’s order to stand down – and sends a childish glare Cloud’s way. “You were nicer when you didn’t remember, yo.”

“Consider it payback for the ‘plate thing’, yo.”

Reno cocks his head to the side, blinking wordlessly for several long moments as if unsure what to make of Cloud’s teasing. Whatever’s going through the Turk’s head, Cloud is not made privy to, the red-head shrugging as if he had come to a dead end and conceding, “Fair enough.”

As Reno moves to stand with his partner again, Cloud throws out a hand to stop the man. “I heard about what you did to Johnson.” Cloud’s not entirely sure why he’s offering the red-head an olive branch, not entirely sure what he’s thinking, but the Turks (and possibly Rufus) haven’t exactly felt like enemies since long before this time rewind. Doesn’t mean he has to like them, though. “I believe the phrase Aerith used was ‘prodded him like an unruly pig’.”

Something like a half-smirk, half-grimace crosses over the red-head’s face and from this close, Cloud can tell that even _Reno_ is taller than him. This is the worst. His growth spurt honestly cannot come soon enough. “I prodded him before he was shipped off to prison, too!” the Turk exclaims, looking exceedingly proud with himself. “He shoulda known not to mess with the Turks, yo!” It’s not until after the words are out of his mouth that Reno realizes what he had said, the man rubbing the back of his head somewhat sheepishly. “Not that you’re a Turk… I mean… Argh, you know what I’m tryna say.”

“Thanks, Reno.”

A clumsy smile has found its way onto Reno’s face, the man chuckling awkwardly, as Cloud lets him go. “Us time travelers gotta stick together!”

“Whatever you say,” Cloud hedges, offering Rude and Tseng a small nod each – they had most likely helped, too – before awkwardly thanking the President (his mother had raised him right). “Thanks… for what you did, too…”

“Oh my. That looked painful.” Rufus ignores Cloud’s grumpy “Don’t test your luck”, a dark look coming over the man’s face. “Regardless, I found it… disturbing what those cadets tried to do. I won’t lie, it left a foul taste in my mouth.”

Cloud grimaces. “Mine, too.” Especially after his fun in the bathroom earlier. Shaking his head as the foul taste starts to return, he tries to rid himself of the morbid thought of the bullies. “Ok, changing the subject – ” cause he _really_ doesn’t want to think about Johnson any more “ – why the hell would you start a rumor that you killed your own father?”

“Oh, so you figured it out?” Rufus doesn’t wait for a response, though – which is good because Cloud would have probably called him an arrogant prick – the man sniffing distastefully down at Heidegger’s rapidly cooling body. “It was a warning to my enemies.”

“How’s that going for you?”

“It all worked out in the end.”

Cloud fixes Rufus with the best unimpressed look he can manage – what was that he had said about wanting to punch the President? “Because I saved your ass again, you mean.”

“Semantics,” Rufus offers dryly. “Now, not that I don’t appreciate your assistance, but how did you manage to make it all the way up here?”

Cloud snorts – wasn’t that a tale in and of itself? “This isn’t the first time I’ve snuck through this building, Rufus. Though, I will admit it wasn’t as smooth sailing as I was hoping for. Did you know that Heidegger had troopers patrolling and guarding the elevators on every. single. floor?” Rufus’s raised eyebrow seems to be proof enough that the man did not know, though he doesn’t look too surprised either. “I ended up having to cut through the labs to get around all the extra security. Oh, and I ran into Darkstar while I was down there, too.”

“And you managed to make it up here in one piece? I’m impressed.”

Cloud rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed. That was the strange part of the story. “Actually, Darkstar seems to have taken a shine to me. I ended up having to promise to come visit him again for him to let me leave.”

“What?? Darkstar likes you?? No fair!” Zack practically whines. “He tried to bite me the last time I saw him!”

Rhapsodos rolls his eyes. “He probably didn’t like another puppy encroaching on his territory.”

“Rude!”

Shaking his head at the two, when Cloud returns his attention to Rufus, he’s thrown for quite the loop when he notices the thoughtful, assessing look on the man’s face. “Darkstar likes you?”

Cloud shrugs – it certainly seemed like it. “He looked ready to bite me at first, but then I told him I was going to rescue you and let him sniff my hand. He seemed to think I was ok after that.”

“Interesting…”

Before Cloud can tell Rufus just how much he doesn’t like the look on his face – honestly, it reminds him of the scientist downstairs – Tseng has recognized the part of the story he had left out. “How did you manage to get into the labs?”

Pulling the keycard from his pocket, he flashes it for the room to see. “I borrowed Sephiroth’s extra keycard.”

But, of course, this means that the last person he wants to talk to right now has a reason to join the conversation. “That was in my desk…”

Taking a deep breath to hopefully ground himself, Cloud turns to his now-living nightmare. The surprise he finds on the man’s face is unnerving to say the least – this was not the man he was used to. Or rather, this was the man he had become too used to, too _comfortable_ around. So much so that he almost wishes for the old Sephiroth back. _That_ he knew how to handle, not this new, ‘sane’ Sephiroth. And certainly not the urge to be near the man, to be _touched_ by the man. No, the usual insanity in the man’s eyes would be _far_ more welcome now. “Probably not the best security practices to leave it unattended in your desk, though I suppose most people wouldn’t steal from the ‘great General’.” Cloud can’t help the smirk that spreads over his face – maybe if he pretends that looking at the man doesn’t bother him, then he can actually fool himself, too. “Then again, I’m not most people.”

Sephiroth’s brows knit together in confusion – and, oh, wasn’t that a new look. “But my desk and office were both locked.”

“Not anymore.” Cloud feels like the shock on the man’s face shouldn’t seem so endearing – he’ll certainly curse his brain later. “Remember, I used to travel with a former Turk.”

“But you’re unenhanced, Cloud.” Oh, Sephiroth doesn’t need to remind him – that has been a continuing source of frustration for him today. But he finds the scolding tone that the man has adopted to be far more irritating. He knows what he’s doing – this isn’t his first rodeo. “What you did was very foolish. You could have gotten yourself killed.”

The unimpressed look he had sent Rufus pales in comparison to the one he gives Sephiroth – was the man really lecturing _him_ for being foolish? “And what, you would have had to find somebody else to use?” He almost feels sorry for the pained wince that passes over the man’s face, but after everything Sephiroth had done, he so deserves it. Waving a hand dismissively, Cloud doesn’t give the man the chance to respond. “Whatever. I cast Shield on myself before coming up here.” Pulling back his sleeve, he shows the man his now-glowing arm. He guesses he could have used a bracer, but shoving all the materia into his arm seemed like the easiest – and least conspicuous – option at the time. “I might have borrowed that, too.” Looking down at his arm, then back to Sephiroth, he adds, “You can have the keycard back, but I’m keeping the materia.”

“I… Ok.”

Cloud hadn’t expected it to be _that_ easy, but he’ll take what he can get. Besides, he’s so done with Sephiroth and this strange, _strange_ conversation.

Well, almost done. He still has one last thing to do first. Eyes never leaving slitted green, he stares down the man as he prowls towards him, ignoring Reno’s jeering “This oughta be good, yo!” and the way Sephiroth’s eyes dilate at the sight of him.

“ _C-Cloud.”_

Glaring up at the man to show he means business – and not to establish dominance like Yuffie would claim – he shoots a hand out to wrap around the crossed leather straps of the man’s harness, totally not focusing on the burning that goes through his fingers and down his spine as his knuckles graze the man’s bare chest. And doing his best to disregard Reno – “Oh baby, oh baby.” – _and_ Zack – “Ok, that’s actually kinda hot…” – he tugs Sephiroth down to his level. “You. and I. are going to have a _very_ long talk later. Do I make myself clear?”

_“Y-Yes.”_

“And you’re going to tell me exactly what my role in all of this shit is _and_ why you thought getting close to me while I didn’t remember was a good idea.” His voice has gotten dangerously low, but that only serves to make Sephiroth’s eyes darken more.

_“Y-Yes, Cloud.”_

“Good.” Not entirely pleased with how this conversation had gone – or with the burning still coursing through his fingers – he uses the leverage he has over Sephiroth to shove the man roughly away, only partially disappointed when Sephiroth doesn’t stumble in the slightest. As he turns to Rhapsodos, he specifically does not think about the breathless manner in which Sephiroth had responded or the fact that Cloud is still technically unenhanced, so Sephiroth must have come willingly. “Rhapsodos. Thanks for treating me with the child-sized gloves.”

Rhapsodos chuckles. “It was absolutely worth it to finally see you in action, little bird. Now I can see what everybody meant when they said you could give dear ol’ Seph a run for his money.”

Cloud twitches – why were they still talking about Sephiroth? He was trying his best to forget about him. “Please don’t start that shit now.”

The Commander only smirks in response. “Don’t like being compared to the great General?”

“I guess you could put it that way.”

“Oh, little bird. You truly are something else. Once upon a time, I would have given anything to have been considered Sephiroth’s equal.”

Sephiroth makes a surprised noise in the back of his throat as if it was news to him that he was the stronger of the two. But Cloud cuts him off before he can say anything – he very much doubts that Rhapsodos would believe him if he did say they were equals. “Is that why you kept trying to kidnap me before? Would the S-cells in my body really have been enough?”

Rhapsodos is not the only one to suck in a startled breath at his words, but he’s the only one Cloud is focusing on. “You know about that?”

“I was mako-poisoned, Rhapsodos. Not deaf.”

“Little bird, I…” The man sighs, frustrated, looking a little ashamed of himself. “ _My soul, corrupted by vengeance. Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey._ ” Cloud has absolutely no idea what Rhapsodos means, but luckily the man elaborates. “I was degrading, Cloud. I was weak, brittle… angry all the _damn_ time. I was convinced pure S-cells were the ‘gift of the Goddess’ that I needed. So consumed was I by my desire to be whole again, that I was willing to do just about anything to make it happen. I’m s—”

Cloud cuts him off before he can finish apologizing – he hadn’t been looking to guilt the man. “Is that what Aerith healed? Your degradation?”

“…That is correct.”

“Good. It would be a shame if I lost my mentor.”

The look on Rhapsodos’s face can’t be classified as anything less than fond. “You truly are the ‘hero of the dawn’, my dear.” Cloud groans, annoyed, but Rhapsodos pays him no mind. “I’m glad you finally got your memories back. I’ll admit, I was starting to worry that you might not ever remember.”

“ _Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return_?”

While Cloud’s recitation is uninspired and probably not rhythmic in any sense of the word, that doesn’t stop the nearly feral look that stretches across Rhapsodos’s face. “You are going to get me in trouble with Sephiroth.” And the man side-eyes his friend for a long moment before coming to a decision. “Though, if he’s already never going to forgive me, I might as well just steal you from him now.”

Cloud rolls his eyes at the man, pretending like he doesn’t hear the offended grunt Sephiroth makes. “I don’t belong to Sephiroth.”

“Right, right. My bad.”

Shaking his head, he decides he’s not going to get anything more out of that and instead turns his attention to Hewley. The distant look on the man’s face is not what Cloud was expecting, but Hewley pulls himself together quickly enough. “Cloud, I’m glad to see you’re looking better.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m sorry if anything we said or did made you cry.”

Apparently, it’s Cloud’s turn to choke on his spit as he gawks at Hewley. “How did you know about that?”

The Commander looks sad at the confirmation that Cloud had actually been crying, but thankfully doesn’t prod. “Your friend, Ms. Kisaragi, noticed. She said that you had the same look on your face as when Ms. Gainsborough died.”

Grimacing at the reminder of her death, it takes him longer than he cares to admit to remember that Yuffie hadn’t actually been in the conference room with them. “Wait… How did Yuffie know?”

“She seems to have been watching us from the air ducts.”

Cloud doesn’t know whether he wants to laugh or cry, but he definitely isn’t surprised. “Of course she was. She was always jealous that Tifa and I had to do that when we were rescuing Aerith from Hojo. She kept trying to convince us to return to Midgar just so she could see what it was like. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had terrorized Reeve and the rest of the WRO by crawling through the ducts there.”

Hewley chuckles at the thought. “I’m glad you have such good friends, Cloud.”

“Same here. But speaking of friends…” Cloud’s a little reluctant to bring this next bit up – Hewley seemed like a nice guy – but he refuses to watch Zack suffer again. “I’m going to warn you now, Hewley. If you ever make Zack kill you again, I swear I will find some way to bring you back to life just so I can kill you myself.”

Hewley nods, a solemn look on his face now – well, at least the man takes him seriously even though Cloud still looks like a child. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Ohh, I like ‘em fierce, yo!”

Not ignoring the taunting this time, Cloud points a finger at Reno in what he can only hope is a menacing way. Knowing Reno, though, it won’t actually work. “If you say ‘this kitten’s got claws’, Reno, I will kill you right now.”

And as he thought, it doesn’t actually work, Reno throwing his head back to cackle before he crows, “Feisty, too!”

Twitching, he turns back to Hewley – he’s almost tempted to ask Tseng if there’s no way to shut the red-head up, but he already knows the answer to that is a big, fat **no**. Not for long at least. “Thanks for having my back, Hewley.”

“It was my pleasure.”

Having saved simultaneously the best and the worst for last, he turns to Zack – he’s wanted this for _so_ long, but now he’s come face-to-face with his failure. “I’m sorry.”

He knew Zack wouldn’t be upset with him, he really did, but he still wasn’t ready for the level of unadulterated hope in the teen’s eyes, Zack’s voice thick with emotion as he asks, “You really remember, Spike?”

Cloud’s answering smile is watery, but he doesn’t really care. “I am your living legacy.”

One might think that Cloud had just confessed his undying love for the teen with how Zack gathers him up in his arms, lifting him bodily from the floor and laughing happily into his neck. But Cloud doesn’t focus on that, can’t focus on that, preoccupied as he is with apologizing over and over again as if he were a broken record, his arms and legs coming up to wrap protectively and almost possessively around his friend. “I’m so sorry, Zack. I’m so sorry.”

“Shhh. It’s ok, Spike, I’m not mad. Nobody blames you for not believing us. That was a lot of shit we sprang on you.”

“No.” Cloud sniffs and that’s when he realizes he’s crying, too. Zack doesn’t seem to mind, though, so whatever. Hopefully, nobody else in the room can hear him – they certainly can’t _see_ him crying with how he’s wrapped around Zack. “I’m sorry for getting you killed. If I just hadn’t been mako-poisoned…”

Zack tenses ever so slightly before pulling back to give him a stern look – did he learn that from Hewley? “Nuh-uh. None of that. I don’t blame you for that at all.” Huh, he sounds like Aerith, too. “And if you hadn’t been mako-poisoned, then Hojo would never have left you alone.”

Sniffling again, Cloud tries to fix Zack with his own stern look, but he’s not sure how successful he is with the tears still running down his face. “Fine. But no more dying for me, ok?”

“I make no promises.”

“Zack.”

“You’re my best friend, Spikey, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. And I’m sure you’ll do the same for me.”

Cloud tries to glare at Zack – he wasn’t about to argue about who was dying for whom this time around – but it must fall flat cause Zack just winks at him. Groaning, he pushes at Zack’s shoulders. “Ugh, put me down. You’re insufferable.”

But it doesn’t work, Zack wrapping a hand around his head and pulling him back down. “Nope, I’m not done yet.”

Cloud doesn’t miss Rhapsodos’s teasing – “Somebody’s just jealous that Sephiroth got the better hug the other day.” – or Hewley’s scolding – “ _Genesis._ ” – but he ignores them both, focused instead on his growing embarrassment. “Zack, this doesn’t help the rumors that we’re dating.”

The teen just laughs and squeezes him tighter. “The offer still stands.”

“I can’t believe you two actually offered…”

“Is that a no?”

“…I don’t know.” He tries to convince himself that his reluctance is due to his fear of seeing Zack and Aerith die again if he got too close – not that he and Zack could get any closer right now, but still – and not because of the flash of green eyes and silver hair through his mind. He’s probably just confused because the fanboy side of him still won’t shut up. A few days should hopefully fix that. “I’m not that great of a boyfriend. Just ask Tifa.”

“Hmm… I don’t exactly believe that, but whatever you say, bud. Let us know if you change your mind.” Well, at least Zack didn’t comment about Cloud’s supposed crush – he would probably die of shame if Sephiroth found out.

“…Ok.”

And like with Sephiroth – so much for not thinking about the man – he’s not sure how long he stays wrapped up in Zack’s arms before they’re interrupted. This time, it’s Hewley who intervenes, the man reminding his former student, “Zack, we still need to find Ms. Kisaragi.”

“Oh, right!” Zack chuckles awkwardly as he sets Cloud back on his feet. “Guess I got carried away.” Rhapsodos’s snark – “No kidding, Puppy.” – goes unheard, Zack ruffling Cloud’s hair and smiling. “Glad you remember, Spike.”

The hand in his hair and the vision of Zack walking away prove to be more than enough to finally distract Cloud’s thoughts from Sephiroth, but he only wishes that it didn’t involve reliving Zack’s death, too. “Yeah, Zack… Me, too.” If Zack notices the trembling to his voice, he thankfully doesn’t say anything.

Turning back to Rufus, Cloud rubs the remaining tears from his eyes and opens his mouth to offer his help, but doesn’t get any further than that, Rufus taking the initiative to be a bastard again. “I’m surprised you’d be willing to cry in front of me.”

Unimpressed look back on his face, he raises an eyebrow at Rufus. “You watched me beg Hojo for a frickin’ number. This is hardly the worst you’ve seen me at.” When Rufus only grimaces in return, he continues, “So, I take it Yuffie is still running rampant throughout the building.”

“Oh, planning to help? I thought you were quitting.”

“Somebody told me I couldn’t quit.” Sizing Rufus up in the same way the man had done with him earlier, he says, “You know, you seem to be rather fixated on owning me. If I didn’t know any better, I might think you were attracted to me.”

“How do you know I’m not?” Rufus shoots back, letting his eyes trail down Cloud’s body suggestively, something of a sensual look on the man’s face. Cloud finds he can’t help the slight shudder that goes through his body – eww, gross. Even if Rufus was just pretending – and he’s pretty damn sure he was – no, just no. He’s _so_ not interested.

And with something of a grimace still on his face, Cloud bites out, “Call it a hunch,” as he stares Tseng dead in the eyes, the reddening to the tips of the Turk’s ears all the confirmation he needs for said ‘hunch’. By the time Cloud returns his attention to Rufus, something of a surprised look has made its way onto the man’s face. “It probably wouldn’t work out between us anyway. I mean, Cid’s already half-convinced that we’re brothers… well, half-brothers – _Yer both pretty, blond, assholes._ ”

Rufus is surprisingly quiet when Cloud finishes his flat impersonation, far more quiet than he’s ever seen the man – Rufus likes to talk – and Cloud finds that he’s far more disturbed by the thoughtful expression on the man’s face now than he was by his earlier ‘seductive’ one. “Well, there is one way to find out.”

Doing a far better job at imitating Rhapsodos than Cid, he adopts the best haughty look he can manage as he sniffs unimpressed at the President. “That is one thing I don’t care to ever find out.” And with that taken care of, and having had enough of Rufus’s smug self, Cloud turns on his heel and starts walking back the way he came.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Rufus calls after him.

“To find Yuffie.”

Rufus sighs. “We have no idea where she is, Cloud.”

And that, that gets his attention. Stopping, he plasters the best _are you kidding me?_ look on his face as he turns to face the President once more. He thought they were smarter than this. “She’s on level 49.”

“Oh? And how do you know that?”

Holding up two fingers for emphasis, he responds, “Two words: materia storage.” And as realization finally dawns, Cloud knows Rufus’s slack-jawed look is one he won’t be forgetting any time soon, though Rude’s unnerved “Oh shit…” is definitely rather amusing in and of itself.

It’s not until he starts walking to the door again that Rufus manages to pull himself together. “You should take somebody with you, Cloud.”

“I don’t need any help. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Yuffie returns everything she’s stolen.”

“Are you really going to wander around the SOLDIER floor by yourself?”

Coming to a stop yet again, Cloud very nearly reminds Rufus that he knows how to handle himself, but begrudgingly admits – to himself, never to Rufus – that the man might be right. If he was spotted, it would be a lot easier if he had a SOLDIER with him. “Fine,” he grumbles out, as if to pretend that Rufus’s idea wasn’t actually a good one. “Zack, you coming?”

“Oh boy, am I!” And the teen practically flies to Cloud’s side, slinging a comforting arm over his shoulders once he’s close enough. “Just like the good old times!”

Cloud snorts and continues walking, Zack still draped over him. “Sure…” And once they reach the door, he adds the finishing touch. Yelling over his shoulder, he warns them, “If you had any materia on you this morning, you may want to make sure it’s still there. 50/50 chance it’s not.”

As they head through the doors, Cloud can’t help his chuckle at Rhapsodos’s outrage – “That brat!!” – but he finds that the small, shocked noise Sephiroth makes totally takes the cake. Gaia, he loves Yuffie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- So, the normal phrase is "treat with kid gloves", where 'kid' refers to the type of leather (kid being a young goat). I used "child-sized" on purpose, though, to reference Cloud's stature. Cloud isn't so much thanking Genesis for treating him gently, as he is thanking him for treating him like the child he looks like rather than the battle-hardened warrior he had been. The warrior he couldn't remember when his memories still eluded him.  
> \- For those of you who have played Dragon Quest XI, I've been listening to Sylvando's theme on repeat for like the past two days. I might need an intervention XD


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Similar to the past two weeks, parts of this chapter may resonant with the Capitol riots from a couple weeks ago. I've had this part of the plot pretty much ironed out for the past couple months, though, so I kept everything as-is. Please keep this in mind while reading, and I hope nothing feels too soon for anybody.

“This kitten’s… got claws?”

Cloud twitches as he turns to face Zack – out of all the things the teen could bring up, it had to be that. They had only just freed Rufus’s secretary from her hiding spot and grabbed the elevator to go find Yuffie. He hadn’t even had the chance to attempt to reconcile his hatred for Sephiroth with his renewed (and completely maddening) admiration for the man. Would things never be easy?

“We are not talking about that,” Cloud replies, hoping to all Gaia that his response is no-nonsense enough to get his message across.

But Zack apparently doesn’t understand the meaning of the word _no-nonsense_ , the teen looking him up and down skeptically as if not entirely believing what he was seeing. “Whatever you say, bud… I just never would have pegged Reno of all people as your type.”

_“What.”_ Disgust washes over him as the implications of Zack’s words sink in, Cloud’s eyes probably as wide as the Gold Saucer. “No, no, no… There’s nothing going on between me and Reno. There never _was_ anything.”

Unfortunately, Zack the jerk doesn’t look entirely convinced. “I don’t know… You two seemed rather _familiar_ with one another...” The teen pouts as he continues, “I mean, I know you turned me and Aerith down, but I thought that was because of Sephiroth – ” Cloud does not squeak, no matter what Zack might say “ – not because of Reno.”

“It was Corneo!” Cloud blurts out, and oh, why can’t he keep his mouth shut? Just kill him now. Zack _so_ does not need to hear this story.

“Corneo? …That’s a strange name. Was he your former lover?”

“Former…? _Gaia, no_.” Cloud thinks he’s going to be sick. Him and Corneo? Gross. The thought was worse than Johnson and Sephiroth _combined_. “He thought I was a girl.” The words are out of his mouth before he can think them through completely. But at least he and Zack are the only two people on this elevator. He would probably die of embarrassment if anybody else overheard.

“…I don’t entirely understand.”

Cloud sighs, exasperated. He cannot believe he’s telling anybody this story. “You _cannot_ repeat any of this to _anybody_. Especially Sephiroth.” He takes a deep breath to start his story, but that’s when he remembers the red-head who had started this entire mess. “Or Reno! I’ll never forgive you if you tell Reno.” Sure, Cloud was the one who brought the phrase up, but that was only because Reno was being an asshole.

.

.

.

“Oh, that is brilliant!”

Cloud huffs out a sigh. He’s not entirely sure when he had crossed his arms over his chest, or even when he had started tapping his foot in rhythm with Zack’s laughter – the latter was pure Claudia Strife – but Zack was being absolutely insufferable. “You can stop laughing any time now, Zack.”

“But Spike…!” Zack’s attempt to finish a complete sentence is unsuccessful, the teen dissolving into another round of unSOLDIER-like giggles. Slapping a leg to emphasize his mirth, he wheezes, “Oh man! Not that you’re not pretty – _ha ha_ – but I can’t believe Corneo picked you as his bride!” The teen finishes with a snort, his lips twitching as if he was trying to keep from laughing again.

“He was going to pick Tifa, but then I insulted him. Apparently, he got off on that.” Cloud can’t help but grimace as he finishes his tale. He’s glad Tifa and Aerith hadn’t been subjected to that, but the image of him sitting on the bed with that creep – he’s _so_ not describing it as ‘sharing the bed’ – was something he was still trying to purge from his memory. Gaia, he should have just let Zack think he and Reno used to be a thing. That would probably have been less painful than this.

“He definitely got himself a kitten with some sharp claws – _tee hee_.”

Sending the teen his best sneer, Cloud warns, “I’m not impressed, Zack.” But that only serves to send the teen into another fit of laughter, Zack bracing himself against the glass of the elevator for support. And when Cloud’s incoherent grumbling only serves to stoke the flames of Zack’s amusement, he bites out, “Shouldn’t you be more bothered about the fact that your girlfriend entered the audition, too?”

“Nah.” Zack brushes Cloud’s concerns – grousing? – off easily, an easy-going smile on his face. “Aerith can handle herself. Besides, she had you and Tifa with her. Honestly, I’d be more concerned for Corneo and his men.”

“You’re a strange one, Zack.”

“Sure, sure…” As Zack trails off, Cloud nearly convinces himself that he’s finally free of this painfully embarrassing conversation. But then, a twinkle appears in Zack’s eyes and Cloud fears the worst is yet to come. “So… Is that why Aerith wanted you to try on that dress back in Wall Market?”

“Zack…”

But Cloud’s warning still isn’t enough this time, and Zack practically howls, “Oh boy, is that why Aerith _bought_ that dress??”

“That’s… Wait, what?”

“Oh buddy – _hee hee_ – if I promise not to tell anybody, will you model it for me?”

“ _Absolutely not._ ”

* * *

The storage room is dark and deceptively quiet as he leaves Zack outsides to guard the entrance, Cloud silently closing the door behind him. He had thought that there would be at least some sign of Yuffie’s presence – laughter, missing materia, broken shit – but as he passes the third row of materia with nothing to show for it, he can’t help the doubt that starts to wriggle up. Had he guessed wrong? No, he couldn’t have. Anyone who had ever traveled with the girl would have known of her obsessive love of materia. But where was she?

“Nar har har! Those jerks will never know what hit ‘em!”

Cloud feels a smirk stretch over his face (and relief bloom in his chest) at the sound of the cackling cutting through the silence in the room – that was definitely Yuffie. It was nice to finally have some confirmation, especially since the room was larger than he was expecting, row upon row of materia blocking his view of the girl. He’s tempted to run straight to her, but he already knows that Yuffie does _not_ like being startled – sometimes violently so. No, it would probably be better if he announced his presence first. “Yuffie, you there?”

“Gak! They found me!” There’s a shuffling noise from the far end of the room, and then the clinking of materia hitting the floor. “No! My materia!” As if just realizing she had given herself away, Yuffie immediately falls silent, an awkward pause filling the room before her voice drifts his way once more, far deeper this time. “I mean… Ho ho ho! It is not Yuffie, but the all… mighty, super power God of all things materia! Yeah, yeah, that’s totally me!” Cloud can almost imagine her patting herself on the back (mentally) for her ‘quick’ thinking and can’t help his snort in response. But the ‘God of Materia’ hears him and does not take his slight lightly, her impressively deep voice now irritated. “Foolish mortal! Do you dare challenge _me_??”

Cloud almost snorts again – Yuffie was always so amusing – but somehow manages to stop himself just in time. It wouldn’t hurt to play along. “Oh no! I would never ever dream of challenging you, O Great and Powerful God of Materia!” He can’t help the slight sarcastic lilt to his response, but if Yuffie hadn’t recognized his voice yet, that was on her.

“Good, good! You are wise, mortal!”

Well, he might as well put on a show for her. She had certainly put on a wonderful one for him by attacking Sephiroth. He’s just sorry he had missed it. “It’s just… a shame, is all,” he laments, sighing dramatically for added effect.

“Eh…? A shame?” Yuffie’s voice is back to normal, so Cloud can tell that he’s piqued her interest. Now, the only question is, would she take the bait?

“Well, you see, there’s this super rare materia I wanted to give Yuffie. But how can I do that if she’s not here?”

“…Materia?”

“Yeah. Guess I’ll have to keep it for myself.”

“Wait, wait! Just what kinda materia are we talking about here?”

Almost there. Pausing for a moment to build anticipation – and to stop himself from snickering again – Cloud brings out the big guns. “Knights of the Round.”

Her response is instant, the girl barreling out into the open, the large, rainbow-colored pile of materia she had confiscated remaining impressively in place in her arms. Hook, line, and _sinker_. “Wait, wait, wait! I _am_ Yuffie! Give it to me! I want it…” But that’s as far as she gets, her voice and volume tapering off once she gets a good look at Cloud.

“Heya, Yuf.”

She sniffs, angry tears welling up in her eyes. She looks ready to point a finger at him, too, but must remember the oversized pile in her arms, the girl stomping a foot and glaring at him instead. “Those jerks put you up to this, didn’t they?! I won’t fall for it!”

Smiling reassuringly, he drops to one knee. “I remember, Yuffie,” he swears, letting out a small chuckle at the thought of the people still upstairs. “Those ‘jerks’ couldn’t even guess where you had gone.” Honestly, he’s a little disappointed in Reno and Rude – they should have known.

“That’s cause I’m the best there is!” She looks momentarily self-satisfied, but not even Cloud’s soft “Yes, you are” is enough, the smile falling just as quickly from her face. “You can’t trick me! You didn’t remember this morning!”

Well, he’ll just have to prove it to her then. “I know the real reason Cid gave up smoking is cause you kept hiding his cigarettes.”

“Those things smell nasty!”

Chuckling, he continues, “And you’re always trying to pick on Nanaki to let off steam. But it only aggravates you more cause he never rises to the bait.”

Her eyes narrow as she looks him up and down suspiciously. “Ok… you’re good,” she admits, though she doesn’t sound entirely convinced yet. Guess he would have to pull out all the stops.

Taking a deep breath, he sings. Sings a Wutaian lullaby. A soft, somber thing that is so in contrast to everything that Yuffie is, but that always reminds the girl of her mother. Cloud knows his pronunciation must be terrible and he’s definitely not known for his singing – Yuffie had always made fun of his ‘braying’ the few times he had actually sung in front of her – but that doesn’t stop the girl from choking out a sob now. From dropping her overflowing bundle and racing through the bouncing, multicolored minefield, straight into Cloud’s open arms.

“Heya, kiddo,” he says, trying to soothe the now-bawling child. Her words are mostly unintelligible through her tears, but he can still make out one word, repeated over and over again – _alone._ And, oh, it breaks his heart imagining how lonely she must have been, all by herself with her memories. Wrapping one hand around her head and the other – _carefully_ – over and around the shuriken still strapped to her back, he cradles her to him as he whispers to her. “It’s ok, Yuf. You’re not alone anymore. I’ve got you now.”

She cries and cries against him, his reassurances and the hand he has running through her hair, lightly massaging her scalp, seemingly doing nothing to calm her for several, long heart-rending moments. He doesn’t stop, though, would never stop – she needs him now – and he continues his ministrations until she has slowly but ever so surely been reduced to a weakly sniffling mess.

Once he’s sure the worst of it is over, he tries his hand at lightening the mood. But he’s only just started to pull back, when tiny arms wrap around him, clinging to him tighter. “Don’t disappear on me again…”

“I’m not going anywhere, Yuf. I just thought it might be easier to hug you if I didn’t have to worry about your giant shuriken poking one of our eyes out.”

That seems to be enough to break through Yuffie’s sorrow, the girl chortling through her tears. “You don’t have any mako in you anymore, so it wouldn’t even grow back this time!”

“I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t grow back even with mako. And, no, I have no desire to find out.”

“Aw, you’re no fun!” She pulls back then, a mischievous smile growing on her face as she throws an arm up to sloppily wipe away her tears. “We could test it out with Sephiroth!”

Cloud won’t lie, stabbing the man’s eyes out does sound like it might be cathartic. But he can’t imagine anybody else would take it well, and he really doesn’t want to upset Zack. Besides, he’s mildly convinced that the fanboy side of him (that he still can’t get rid of) would probably guilt him out of it. “No, Yuffie, that’s wrong.”

“You hesitated!”

“I did… But it’s still wrong.”

“No fair…” she grumbles, arms crossed over her chest, annoyed. When she realizes that her pouting won’t convince him, though, she huffs out a sigh and frowns at him. “Speaking of Sephiroth, are you really telling me that months of him making goo-goo eyes at you does nothing while Rufus being the regular jerk-a-dee jerk jerk that he is is all it takes for you to remember?!?”

“I guess I needed a little push.” He’s so not focusing on the _goo-goo eyes_ comment.

She harrumphs, looking him up and down exasperated. “Well, at least you’re consistent.”

Chuckling, he pushes himself back to his feet and ruffles Yuffie’s hair one last time. “I guess I am. But more importantly, young lady,” he says, changing the subject and giving Yuffie the look he normally reserved for Marlene and Denzel when they were being particularly naughty. It must work on Yuffie, too, since she lets out a high-pitched squawk and fidgets nervously in front of him. “Would you care to explain what you’re doing here?”

“I was just…” Yuffie trails off, watching with semi-rapt interest as a yellow orb of command materia finishes its slow journey across the floor, rolling out of sight under an untouched rack of materia. “Just… looking for some additional ammunition if that fatso caused some more trouble! Yup, that’s totally it!”

Cloud can feel the unimpressed look on his face deepen – he was asking what she was doing here in Midgar, not in this room specifically. He already knew why she was in this room, and it had nothing to do with Heidegger. But, whatever, he can play along. “Heidegger’s dead. I killed him.”

“Oh…” Yuffie’s surprise doesn’t last long, the shock on her face morphing swiftly and unapologetically into a vicious smirk. “About dang time!”

“Yuffie. The chaos you caused nearly got my roommates killed.”

The girl’s eyebrows knit together, as if she’s doesn’t entirely get his point. “And that’s… bad?” She asks, sounding out her words carefully.

“You might find this hard to believe, but I actually like my roommates.”

“Uhhh… oops?” She looks sheepish for all of three seconds, and then indignation rolls in, Yuffie pointing a finger his way. “Hey wait! I did all this for you!”

Cloud flounders for a second, his brow scrunched up in confusion – he hadn’t expected that response. “You attacked Sephiroth and Heidegger and threw the entire Tower into mayhem for me?”

“You didn’t remember!” She throws her arms into the air in her exasperation, and then starts pacing in front of him, her eyes darting back and forth between Cloud and the floor, as if cataloging the discarded materia. “And Sephiroth was putting the moves on you – ” Yuffie’s steadily rising volume does wonders to drown out Cloud’s startled spluttering, the girl ignoring the growing blush on his cheeks – “so I knew I had to stop him before he could seduce you to the dark side for good! Fatso just got in the way, so I let him know I’d be coming for him next!”

“Yuffie…” Cloud sighs, laying a hand on her shoulder to stop her pacing and tilting her head up to wipe away the tears that had started falling again. “Thanks so much for having my back. You’re such a good friend.” He kinda feels like he’s talking to Darkstar again, not that he would tell Yuffie that – she would _so_ not appreciate it.

“But…?”

“But Sephiroth’s not entirely at fault. He was being controlled by Jenova… apparently.” Cloud can’t help his slight equivocating… He’s still not entirely sure how to feel about – or _around_ – Sephiroth. Though, to be fair, he’s only remembered for a few hours.

But Yuffie doesn’t miss his hesitation, his uncertainty, the girl calling him out on his cop-out. “You don’t believe him, though!”

“I don’t… Not really, no.” Sighing again, he runs a hand through his hair. “But I believe Zack and Aerith. And they believe him.”

Yuffie sucks in a harsh breath, her voice breaking as she croaks out, “A-Aerith?” Apparently, the mention of their once-lost friend was all that was needed to make the girl forget about Sephiroth. Fine by Cloud, he really has no desire to keep talking about the man or any of Yuffie’s wild theories concerning him.

“Wanna see her?”

Sniffing, Yuffie nods her head hard, her eyes shining with a painful mixture of grief and hope. “Y-yeah! Let’s g-go!” she shakily adds, her voice still rough with emotion.

“Ok, but first we need to return all this materia you stole.”

“No!” Eyes now wide with fear, Yuffie spreads her arms to the sides, the girl guarding the orbs she had dropped, as if that was enough to keep Cloud from getting to the polychromatic tripping hazard behind her. “They’re mine now! I found ‘em!”

Cloud groans and runs a hand down his face – he should have realized this wouldn’t be easy. “Yuffie, you can’t keep them.” He pays no heed to her offended grunt as he continues, his voice as firm as a Behemoth’s hide. “What would people think if they found out that a Wutaian national made off with all of Shinra’s materia?”

“That I’m the greatest ninja there is!” And Yuffie turns to the side, planting her fists on her hips and striking a mighty pose. Or at least it might have looked mighty if she wasn’t a child… and if Cloud wasn’t already intimately familiar with her personality inside and out.

“It would strain Midgar-Wutai relations.”

“…So?”

“So, it’ll make more problems for me.”

“Oh…” Yuffie deflates instantly, kicking a foot petulantly at thin air, distinctively and somewhat impressively missing the red orb of summon materia directly in front of her. “But… no fair…”

Crouching down to her level, his voice is gentle as he reminds her, “You haven’t forgotten what happened the last time you stole everybody’s materia, have you?”

“I don’t have to worry about that! I already took care of it!”

Cloud can feel confusion setting in as he blinks at the girl wordlessly. What did she mean by ‘took care of it’? “Yuffie… What did you do?” The apprehension building in the pit of his stomach only grows at the wild look he receives in response.

“I killed that creep already!”

.

.

.

“Are… Are you telling me that you killed Don Corneo?”

“He had it coming! It’s not like anybody will actually miss that creep!”

* * *

“There!” Yuffie brushes her hands together – once, twice – as if to signal the completion of her task. “That’s all of it!” Cloud won’t lie – Yuffie is doing a rather convincing job of playing the innocent child, hands now clasped behind her back and a toothy grin on her face.

He doesn’t buy it for a second.

“Oh?” Cloud says, feigning surprise. “What about the orbs you stashed in that bag of yours when you thought I wasn’t looking?”

Yuffie chokes out a gasp, appearing to be rather startled at having been caught. Honestly, how long had they known each other? It shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise that he could read her like an open book. Besides, it’s not like she was even being that subtle. “O-Orbs? …What orbs?” She laughs awkwardly, the grin still half on her face. Aww, poor thing. She was trying so hard.

“Yuffie, I promised Rufus that I would make sure you put everything back.” He continues talking even as she opens her mouth to object – he doesn’t care (nor know how) to explain why he had promised Rufus anything. He just didn’t want to encourage Yuffie’s bad habits. “The sooner you do, the sooner we can see Aerith.”

She grumbles unhappily and incoherently for several long moments before finally huffing out a sigh and stamping her foot, a frown set deep on her face. “Fineeeee…”

.

.

.

Gaia. If he had known that convincing Yuffie to return her stolen bounty would have been this difficult – honestly, it was like trying to pull teeth from a rabid Coeurl – then he would have brought Sephiroth along. At least then he could have gotten some amusement out of watching Yuffie try to kill the man again. But, no. Instead, he finds himself ready to pull out all of his hair at the level of childish reluctance thrown his way. “That’s _allll_ of it, I swear!”

“No, it’s not, and you know it. Please stop lying to me.” Pinching the bridge of his nose, he tries to will back the headache he can already feel brewing. No matter how many times Cloud reminds her that he knows exactly who she is, she still keeps thinking that she can pull a fast one on him. “There’s a blue orb of support materia in the right pocket of your shorts and a red orb of summon materia that you shoved into your left forearm.”

“Those are mine, though!”

“Not if you stole them, they aren’t.”

Yuffie lets out a frustrated string of Wutaian – Cloud isn’t the best at the language, but he’s pretty sure she just called him _stingy_ and _lame_ – as she rips the materia from their hiding places. Turning to finally return them, the girl switches back to the common tongue to bellyache. “What use does Shinra have for Ramuh anyway?? It’s not like they care about him the way I do. I mean, Ramuh and I go _wayyyy_ back. I would _so_ make the better owner.”

Ignoring her aggravated tirade, once he’s satisfied that Yuffie had returned everything (and hadn’t picked anything else up), he smiles at her. “Thanks, Yuffie.”

“You’re not welcome!” She huffs out, shoving a finger into Cloud’s chest. “And you have to do everything I say from now on, too!”

Well, he guesses he can play along again. Kneeling down in front of her once more, he lays a hand over his heart and bows his head in mock-fealty. “My mighty liege!” Tilting his head back up, he throws her a quick, playful wink and a hearty “Of materia!”

The corners of Yuffie’s mouth tilt up for a fraction of a second before she crosses her arms in front of her and sniffs haughtily down at him. “I suppose I can forgive you… peasant.”

Cloud can’t help his chuckle at their little game, but his voice and face are entirely sincere when he vows, “Your forgiveness means everything to me, Yuffie.”

His declaration does wonders at shocking her, Yuffie’s mouth dropping open as she gawks at him, the hints of a blush starting to dust her cheeks. Coughing awkwardly into a fist, she tries to downplay the effect of his words, even though it’s a little late for that. “Good. Now that that’s over, let’s go!”

* * *

“If we run into anybody, Yuf, you’ll have to pretend like you don’t know me.”

“Oh, puh-lease.” Yuffie drawls, her breath tickling Cloud’s right ear, the girl having clambered up him like he was some sort of jungle gym as they approached the exit to the storage room. He had tried to complain, to persuade her that holding his hand was good enough, but she had crabbily reminded him that she was in charge now. Well, at least she had been careful with her shuriken this time. “I gave Tseng the run-around for _daaaays_ when he was in Wutai for peace negotiations. Pretending like I don’t know you for like two seconds will be a piece of cake!”

Cloud shakes his head, the hint of a smirk on his face as he waits by the door, one hand wrapped around the doorknob, the other holding Yuffie up – they should probably finish their little conversation now before heading out into the hallway. “Let me guess. You gave him the run-around cause you thought Sephiroth had him wrapped around his finger, too.”

“Duh!”

It’s not until he’s stepped quietly out into the hallway and readjusted Yuffie on his back that he notices that Zack isn’t the only one waiting for them. Or more specifically, it would appear that a group of SOLDIERs had been drawn to Zack, like moths to a flame. To the bright, dazzling flame that is Zack.

“Wait, Zack. Are you saying that Director Heidegger smuggled a _child_ into the Tower and then tried to use her to distract everybody while he murdered the President??”

“I know, Kunsel. I’m just as surprised as you are. But I was there. I saw Heidegger try to shoot the President.” Zack grimaces, arms crossed in front of him. “If it wasn’t for Cloud talking those troopers around, things could have gone a lot worse…”

One of the other SOLDIERs taps his chin thoughtfully before saying something that makes Cloud really wish he and Yuffie were still in the materia storage room. “No wonder Sephiroth chose him as his student.”

“And seems so fond of him,” Kunsel adds.

Somehow, Cloud manages to keep his meltdown to himself this time, though that doesn’t stop Yuffie from leaning into him and hissing, “ _Dumbasses._ ”

“Not gonna lie, I wasn’t sure what to make of him at first,” the one who had started this whole infernal conversation about him and Sephiroth says.

“What are you talking about, Essai?” the fourth and final member of Zack’s little huddle questions. “He summoned Bahamut on his second day!”

“I know that, Seb. But you’ve seen how tiny he is.”

Cloud bristles at the slight against his height, but doesn’t get further than that, Zack _and_ Yuffie both coming to his defense. “You haven’t seen him in action! Cloud’s fierce!” Zack counters as Yuffie leans in again, growling low and dangerous in his ear, “Want me to take care of him? I’ll show him what tiny people are made of.”

As much as he would love to see Yuffie show this petty asshole his place, as comical as it would be, he still whispers back, “No, Yuffie. You need to keep a low profile from now on.” Doesn’t mean he can’t get some fun out of it, though. And ignoring Yuffie’s petulant “fun-sucker”, he clears his throat loudly, reveling in the way that all four of the SOLDIERs across the hallway jolt in their surprise. So much for SOLDIER senses. “He can hear you, too,” he warns, striding over to them. As he stops in front of Essai, he makes a show of sizing the helmeted SOLDIER up, a distinctly unimpressed look on his face. “If you’re still not convinced, though, I’d be willing to show you how fierce I can be one-on-one.”

“Somebody’s been hanging around Commander Rhapsodos too much…”

Cloud’s not entirely sure which one of them said that, but he doesn’t get the chance to find out, Kunsel tilting his head to the side and looking at Cloud’s precious cargo. “Is that her?”

Yuffie squeaks and buries her face into Cloud’s neck, acting for the world like the shy, innocent little girl she most definitely was not. Well, no wonder she was able to give Tseng the slip for so long. “Sorry, guys,” Cloud answers for her. “She’s a little high-strung right now after everything that’s happened. Took me a while to calm her down.”

“No need to be alarmed, miss,” Kunsel says, voice soft and soothing, the SOLDIER slowly removing his helmet to reveal a lightly-freckled face and short honey brown hair. “No one will hurt you here.”

Peaking up at Kunsel’s now-revealed face, Yuffie does a rather striking job of playing out her hesitance. “…P-Promise?”

“Of course. A SOLDIER is always good for his word.”

Zack, Essai, and Seb – Sebastian, if Cloud’s fragmented memories serve him right – offer their own kind words of agreement, Yuffie straightening back up and releasing a relieved sigh. “Huh… I guess not all Shinra people are meanies… You guys don’t seem so bad…”

“Thank you, miss. That means a lot to us.”

“I like Cloud more, though!” Yuffie insists, hugging Cloud tighter and acting for the SOLDIERs as if she was working through her shyness.

One of Sebastian’s hands come up to cover his mouth, the SOLDIER chuckling at them. “You like him a lot, don’t you?”

The deep breath Yuffie takes is the only warning Cloud gets. The only warning that he’s not going to like whatever’s about to come out of her mouth. “He’s cute!” Cloud tenses in her grasp, but not even that is enough to stop Yuffie once she’s having fun. “Like a little baby Chocobo!”

“Hey!” he complains, his face growing hotter and hotter as _all_ four SOLDIERs laugh at him – he’ll be having words with Zack later.

“No, no! It’s ‘kweh’!”

“Or ‘wark’!” Zack not-so-helpfully provides. Oh, Cloud will _definitely_ be having words with him later.

Cloud has only just opened his mouth to warn Zack that he is _so_ not helping, when a shout of “There he is!!!” rings throughout the hallway. The SOLDIERs jump again, but are far more responsive this time to the potential threat, Zack and Kunsel – he thinks – moving to flank him, Essai and Sebastian falling behind, acting for all intents and purposes as his rearguard. Cloud, himself, turns to face the officers storming their way, putting as much protection between them and Yuffie.

“He’s the one who knocked me out!!”

Cloud won’t lie, he is rather surprised at the sight of the red-faced officer in front of him. He really hadn’t expected this doofus – Stevens, was it? – to be conscious again so soon. But maybe the person sent to find him had a good handful of smelling salts. Not that that train of thought will do him much good now. “Can I help you, sir?”

The other officer points a shaking finger at him and then ruins everything by opening his mouth. “You thought you’d get away, didn’t you?! But you shouldn’t count your cats ‘til they’re out of the bag!” Oh Gaia, no. Not this idiot again. Having to hear Stevens again so soon was bad enough.

“Is there a problem here, gentlemen?” Kunsel asks for them, Zack having gone tense and uncharacteristically silent next to Cloud.

Stevens shakes with anger, pointing a stubby finger Cloud’s way like his comrade had just a moment ago. “This little rat knocked me and Ryland out and then disobeyed direct orders from Marshall here to go gallivanting around the Tower!” Face disconcertingly and almost impressively redder than before, Stevens continues his railing, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he receives the punishment he deserves!”

Zack grunts, offended, the teen still ramrod straight, but the idiom-idiot – Marshall, he thinks – cuts him off, fury-filled eyes now trained on Yuffie. “It’s the intruder!!”

Several tense moments follow, Stevens and Marshall drawing their rifles, Zack and Kunsel moving as one to shield Cloud, Essai and Sebastian boxing him and Yuffie in from behind. “Stand down!” Zack’s voice thunders throughout the nearly empty hallway, steel in his tone as much as in his hand.

“But – ”

Zack doesn’t give the foolish officer any more chance to object, the teen doing an incredible and rather intimidating job of pulling rank, sword still raised ominously in front of him. “ _Gentlemen_. I am Lieutenant Zackary Fair. As your commanding officer, I order you to _stand. down._ ”

The officers finally lower their weapons, but going from the scowls on both of their faces, their objections are far from over. “We meant no disrespect… sir – ” Cloud gets the feeling that Stevens doesn’t particularly care for showing deference to someone younger than him, though that might be something he had learned from Heidegger – “but this girl is working for Wutai! She said there are hundreds of them with her!”

“I am aware of what she said, trooper. I was there.” Zack’s voice is ice-cold as he addresses Stevens, his posture still battle-ready. “Are _you_ aware that this was all a stunt pulled by Director Heidegger to kill the President and seize control of Shinra?”

“What??” Marshall’s lower face is the textbook definition of scandalized as he processes Zack’s words. “The Director would never do that!”

“I’m sorry!!” Yuffie cries, her sobs echoing distressingly around the hallway, the girl clinging to Cloud tighter. “I’m so sorry!! I d-didn’t want to! B-But…!” She chokes on her rather convincing tears, one hand coming up to cover her face. The two officers, to their credit, look rather unsettled by Yuffie’s display – perhaps they weren’t total losses after all.

“But what, sweetheart?” Cloud encourages, voice gentle.

Yuffie whimpers, fat tears falling from her cheeks and staining Cloud’s uniform top. Oh well, he needed to wash it anyway. “H-He…” Her voice quavers as she speaks, the girl sniffling for good measure. “T-The mean m-man… He made me do it! He s-said if I didn’t, it would be all m-my fault!”

“What would be your fault?”

“He… H-He said that if I didn’t l-listen to him, t-that…” Yuffie chokes on her words again. “That he’d d-drop the Sector 7 plate and it would be all my fault that all those people died!!!”

“The plate??” Well, if Cloud has one thing going for him, it’s that his confusion and horror are real, as real as that of the officers and the other SOLDIERs in the hallway. He hadn’t expected Yuffie to turn the story this way, nor had he expected to relive the destruction of the plate collapse – the fire, the bodies, the _screams_ – so soon.

Sobbing again, Yuffie buries her face into his neck – Cloud really hopes that the wetness is from her tears and not anything else… “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Yuffie repeats over and over again, her voice weakening as if she was tiring herself out.

“Shh, it’s ok. Nobody’s going to die because of you.”

She sniffles again. “…P-Promise?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

“T-Thanks…” She whines miserably and buries herself further into him. He can feel the slightest of smirks pressed into his neck and just knows that Yuffie is pleased with her acting skills. She’s the only one, though – the officers look a little nauseous below their helmets; Kunsel, Essai, and Sebastian all grumble angrily around him; and Cloud finds himself growing more and more exasperated with how this day was turning out… He _so_ deserved a raise after all of this shit.

“The more I hear about that man…” Sebastian grunts out, the SOLDIER trailing off angrily.

“I know,” Cloud agrees, tilting ever so slightly to see Essai and Sebastian behind him, the rest of his body still protecting Yuffie in case things turned ugly again. “She only told me that the Director stole her away from her parents. I thought _that_ was bad enough.” He really doesn’t like lying to these SOLDIERs – even less so than the troopers from before – but Yuffie takes priority right now.

“D-Director Heidegger… H-He really…?” Cloud almost feels sorry for the way Stevens stumbles over his words, the man seemingly overwhelmed, but it’s not like Heidegger didn’t actively and in big, bold letters advertise _exactly_ who he was. If Stevens fell for – or perhaps wrote off – the cruelty, the volatility, the sadism, then that was entirely on him.

Essai grunts, a furious look on the unhelmeted part of his face, sword still in his hand – though, the latter might have more to do with the fact that Zack still had his own raised and ready. “Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say.”

“Good… riddance?”

Zack apparently doesn’t take Stevens’s shaky tone, Marshall’s horrified look, nor either of their lowered weapons as evidence of their submission, the teen’s body still overly stiff, voice still frosty as he joins the conversation once more. “Director Heidegger tried to murder the President earlier today. He told the troopers with him that if anybody resisted, that they should, and I quote, ‘put a bullet through their brains’. If he hadn’t been killed in defense of the President, he would have been put on trial for inciting an insurrection.”

Going from the strangled looks on the two officers’ faces, this information troubles them more than the tales of child abuse that Yuffie had woven. He’ll admit, he has no idea what to make of that, but at least Zack hadn’t mentioned Cloud’s own involvement in Heidegger’s demise. He’s not sure how the two would have taken that information right now.

But more importantly, Cloud can tell that something about these two troopers really bothers Zack. He can’t pinpoint what, but he figures it can’t just be because they’re idiots – Zack doesn’t seem to have that much of a problem with Reno… No. Something else must be setting him off, but what?

Well, whatever it is, Cloud definitely doesn’t want Zack around them any longer. Guess it’s time for another diversion. “Hey, Zack? I think the girl fell asleep. It’s probably way past her naptime.”

“Oh!” Zack jerks, surprised, the teen finally – _finally_ – reattaching his sword to the magnet on the back of his harness and running a hand through his hair in mock-embarrassment. “Right, we should probably take her back to the President. We’ve been gone long enough as is.

Stevens and Marshall remain rooted to the spot, eyes downcast, as the other SOLDIERs wish them well – “Keep her safe, yeah?” – and he and Zack start their journey back to the top of the Tower, Yuffie still feigning sleep.

It’s not until the elevator has started its ascent and the SOLDIER floor is no longer within view that Yuffie tires of her act, the girl stretching back out and yanking a tuft of Cloud’s hair – _hard_ – the girl grousing out, “Past my naptime?”

Rubbing his scalp in a vain attempt to relieve the pain, one hand still holding Yuffie in place on his back, he returns, equally unimpressed, “Like a little baby Chocobo?”

Yuffie hums in thought, her crankiness washed away. “I wonder if they would let us enter a Chocobo race…”

He knows he shouldn’t humor her – whatever’s running through her head cannot be good – but curiosity killed the cat. “What are you talking about?”

“You and I should enter a Chocobo race! I swear you won’t find a better jockey! I’ll take such good care of you!”

Well, apparently satisfaction wasn’t bringing this cat back. Eye twitching, Cloud grumbles, “If you tell me to giddy-up, Yuffie, I’m dropping you on your ass.”

“Stingy!”

His exasperation with being compared to a Chocobo – _again_ – doesn’t stop him from noticing that Zack is still disconcertingly quiet. The teen should have been sniggering along with Yuffie – making fun of Cloud’s ever so slight resemblance to a Chocobo was Zack’s absolute favorite pastime. Even if he wasn’t laughing along, he shouldn’t be staring blankly through the glass of the elevator. “Zack, what’s wrong?”

“Hmm?” Zack shakes himself out of his brooding at the sound of Cloud’s voice, grief still evident in his eyes when they land on Cloud. But all it takes is a moment – and a single blink – for the pain to disappear, a hastily constructed mask and a smile that doesn’t quite reach the teen’s eyes now plastered on Zack’s face. “Nothing’s wrong, buddy!”

“Please, don’t do that. Don’t shut me out. I’m here for you now.”

Zack runs a shaky hand through his hair, the fake smile dropping from his face as quickly as it was pasted on. “Sorry, buddy. You’re right. I just…” He sighs, long and hard, the look in his eyes now distant. “Those two troopers downstairs… I remember them. They were part of the group that killed me the first time around.”

“Oh…” is the best response Cloud can offer, his breath catching painfully in his throat.

“I know they didn’t really have a choice…” Zack trails off, chuckling bitterly. “But I just can’t stop thinking about them, about everything!” The teen glares, unseeing, as he quotes, “ _I don’t care if he looks like a SOLDIER! He’s the enemy! Kill him already!_ ” Cloud can hear the creak of leather as Zack clenches his fists. “And it just makes me so mad thinking about what they would have done to you given the chance!”

“Zack…”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Yuffie yells, the girl clambering higher on Cloud’s back, ignoring Cloud’s irritated “I can’t breathe!” as she tries to get a better look at Zack. “This is him?? Pretty boy here is _that_ Zack?? The _oh, woe is me_ – ” the girl slaps the back of her hand against her forehead – “ _I’ll never see my best friend again_ Zack?? That Zack??”

Zack looks incredibly confused, but at least the pain is gone from his eyes. “Uh… I guess?”

“Alright, that’s it!” Yuffie sounds incredibly agitated as she starts to tug on Cloud’s hair again. “Turn this Chocobo around!”

“Yuffie, stop! What are you doing?” Cloud tries to whack her hands away, but only succeeds in convincing the girl to change gears, Yuffie swatting rather frantically at the elevator buttons – the buttons on the other side of the elevator.

“I’m gonna go kill those jerks, that’s what! I knew I hated ‘em!”

“We’ve been over this already, Yuffie! You can’t kill people just cause you feel like it!”

“Why not??”

Zack coughs next to him, once, twice, before breaking down into full-blown laughter, the teen bent double, tears streaming down his face. “Oh man, Cloudy! You have the best friends!”

“What are you talking about, pretty boy? I’m your friend, too!”

“Huh?”

“Any friend of Cloud’s is my friend, too!”

Cloud sighs and gives as lackluster of an imitation of Yuffie as he had of Cid earlier. “Just give up, Zack. It’ll be easier. …Probably.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- "This kitten's got claws" is something Don Corneo says to Cloud in the Remake.  
> \- For those who haven't played the original, don't remember it that much, or never did the Wutai side quest, there is a part in the original game where if you try to go to Wutai, Yuffie will steal all of your materia and run off. Well, after leading everybody on a merry chase for a while, she ends up being kidnapped by Don Corneo. I think Corneo planned on making her his "bride", which is disgusting since she was only 16 in the game. But anyway, that is what Yuffie was referring to in this chapter.  
> \- While planning the next chapter, I ended up getting perhaps a little carried away with a scene between Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis, and another between Rufus, Vincent, and Tseng. This is all to say that Cloud and Yuffie won't reunite with Aerith until two chapters from now, and Cloud won't talk with Sephiroth until three chapters from now. (Cloud talking with his roommates will probably fall in the chapter with Aerith somewhere)  
> \- "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back" is what Cloud references near the end. I thought it was the original version of "Curiosity killed the cat", but according to google, it's just a variation.  
> \- I meant to respond to the comments from last week (I read them and love them all 😊), but I ended up falling quite a bit behind with writing. I'll try to respond when I get the chance (I'm not ignoring anybody, I swear!), but I'm still trying to catch up (I'm a slow writer).


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **As a heads up:** for at least the next chapter or two, I'm going to be switching to a biweekly update schedule. I was really trying to avoid it, but I've fallen behind and I've been burning myself out trying to catch up (I haven't played a video game in like 2 weeks 😭)
> 
> So, the next chapter will be out on the 14th. Hopefully by then I'll be feeling better and will be able to switch back to weekly updates, but we'll see. It's just whenever I do have another cliffhanger (it won't be for another few chapters at least), I don't want to leave people waiting longer than a week for the resolution.

Cloud had argued with Yuffie, had told her that she couldn’t go around killing people just cause the fancy struck her. But in all reality, his words were just as much for him as they were for her. He had been fighting just as hard with his own rage and the overwhelming temptation, as Yuffie so aptly put it, to show those troopers just what tiny people were made of. He didn’t like them already and _now_ he finds out they had killed Zack? Hoo boy, where’d he put his gun? If it hadn’t been for Zack’s intervention – “They could have ended up with a fate worse than death if they had resisted. Like ‘geal said, this is a second chance for all of us.” – if not for that, he probably would have lost his fight against his conscience and given in to Yuffie’s demands to go ‘jerk hunting’.

But then they had stepped off the elevator and all thoughts of troopers and harbingers of death vanished the moment Yuffie laid her eyes on Rufus’s secretary. Instantly charming the woman – “She’s so pretty, Cloud…” – the secretary was already in the palm of Yuffie’s hand as the girl started selling her increasingly elaborate fantasy of an evil Director terrorizing anyone he pleased. And as they passed the still-sniffling woman and started up the flight of stairs to Rufus’s office, Cloud couldn’t get rid of the sinking feeling that everybody in Midgar would know all about Heidegger and his ‘nefarious’ plot before the day was done.

.

.

.

“Yuffie, return the rest of the materia you stole.”

“I already returned everything, though!” While there’s no hint of deceit in her voice – none that Cloud can detect anyway – Yuffie still can’t control the subtle glance she sends around the room, the girl squirming ever so slightly in front of Cloud. If he didn’t already know she was lying, if he wasn’t already painfully aware of her unhealthy obsession with materia, that would have been all the sign he needed.

“Oh? So you’re telling me you didn’t steal anything from anybody in this room?” He’s somewhat tempted to let her keep what she stole from Sephiroth, but he shouldn’t be encouraging her behavior. If you gave her an inch, she would steal the entire Shinra Building.

Stomping a foot in her frustration, Yuffie looks like she’s not ready to give in just yet. “The agreement was I get all the materia!”

“All the…?” Cloud pauses as the echoes of a conversation long past return to him – _Cloud… sign this… when the war is over, all the materia will belong to me…_ Running a weary hand down his face, Cloud lets out an exasperated sigh – he’s _so_ not getting paid enough for this. “That was the war with Sephiroth and I never signed that contract.”

“Damn! My plan failed again!”

.

.

.

Convincing the girl to actually return Rhapsodos’s materia proved to be far more painful than everything else Cloud had done that day. It had definitely not gone over well when he told Yuffie that no, actually, Rhapsodos probably loved Bahamut more than she did; she certainly didn’t believe that was possible. But all of that paled in comparison to when he asked her to return what she had stolen from Sephiroth, the girl turning an entirely betrayed look his way.

“But you don’t even like him!” While Yuffie didn’t particularly care for the scolding she received for running amok – not from Rufus and _definitely_ not from Cloud – she absolutely resented being told to return the materia she had ‘liberated’.

“The point is you stole from him. We’ve been over this before.”

Yuffie pouts, her arms swinging back and forth limply at her sides. “Aerith and second chances and all that…” When Cloud still doesn’t cave, she heaves out a great, big sigh and trudges over to Sephiroth. “Kneel, peasant…” Her order lacks her normal exuberance, the girl acting absolutely miserable.

“Kneel…?” Sephiroth blinks, once, twice, the look of pure confusion on his face jarring Cloud even more – this was not the Sephiroth he knew.

Growling, the girl snaps her fingers and points at the floor. “You’re too dang tall!”

“You’re just tiny, Squirt!” Reno interjects, the red-head grinning impishly as Yuffie glares his way.

“Nobody asked you, Carrot Top!” Turning back to Sephiroth, Yuffie gives him the most expectant look she can manage and snaps her fingers once more. “Now!”

Cloud’s not really sure what surprises him more, the fact that Yuffie expects Sephiroth to kneel before her or the reality that Sephiroth actually _does_ , the man ever so hesitantly lowering himself down onto one knee, a bemused expression still covering his face. Cloud can hear Reno snickering to himself and can see Rhapsodos struggling between amusement at Sephiroth’s plight and offense on his friend’s behalf. But Cloud finds he is far too preoccupied with the fluttering in his own stomach, the fluttering that has him tensing from head to toe – was that a sign that Sephiroth was going to attack?

Before he can come to a conclusion, though, Yuffie has shot forward, two tiny hands grabbing Sephiroth’s face, holding him in place while she scrutinizes him. She inspects him like that for an eternity, staring deep into his eyes – Sephiroth stunned, Yuffie determined, Cloud growing more and more antsy with each passing second – as she searches for something. Finally, her hands drop and Yuffie takes a step back with a rather dissatisfied grunt. “Huh. You really aren’t crazy this time around.”

Cloud has no idea how staring into the man’s eyes is enough to come to that conclusion – not that Cloud would actually try – but Yuffie still plucks a green orb of materia from a hidden pocket and drops it somewhat reluctantly into Sephiroth’s hand. Watching him thoughtfully as he places the orb in his jacket, Yuffie waits until the man has returned his attention to her before holding a hand up to the side of her mouth and stage whispering, “Do you wanna know a secret?”

Sephiroth tilts his head (not endearingly) to the side, the man looking entirely out of his element as he casts a glance at his fellow SOLDIERs. When all he receives are identical shrugs in return – apparently none of them aware of the correct response for the situation – he turns back to Yuffie, a perplexed look on his face. “I… suppose?”

“Fantastic!” Yuffie claps her hands happily, her mouth stretching into a toothy grin.

Cloud will admit that it takes him entirely too long to realize that the smile on Yuffie’s face is not sincere in the slightest – she was getting better at this whole deception thing – and he only has the time to yell “Yuffie…!” before the girl has wound back a fist and decked Sephiroth straight in the face. “I still don’t like you!”

Absolute chaos erupts around him as the force of Yuffie’s punch sends Sephiroth falling backwards onto his butt – Reno left howling while Rude berates him for encouraging the girl. But Cloud doesn’t have the time to worry about that, doesn’t give himself the time – Sephiroth would surely kill Yuffie, just like he had with Aerith. Horror settles ice-cold in his veins at the thought, Cloud rushing forward to try save the girl before it was too late. He doesn’t make it more than two steps, though, one arm outstretched to grab her by the scruff of her neck, when Sephiroth brings a hand up ever so tentatively to touch his (still perfect-looking) face. “…Ow?”

“That’s what you get for messing with the Great Ninja Yuffie!”

“…I’ll keep that in mind?”

Yuffie nods sagely. “Wise, peasant.”

Cloud’s hand falls limply back to his side as he stares uncomprehending at the scene in front of him. He already had no idea what to make of Yuffie actually enjoying herself around Sephiroth, but was the man actually playing along? “What just happened?”

It’s not until nine sets of eyes are on him that Cloud realizes he had spoken out loud. Luckily, Rufus takes pity on his still-perplexed expression – he really was in no state of mind to deal with the man’s manipulations – Rufus shaking his head ever so slightly, the hint of a smirk on his face as he responds, “Our beloved General just got his ass handed to him by a child, that’s what.”

“Huh.”

He’s still reeling by the time Yuffie tires of Sephiroth’s shock, the girl returning to his side, a pleased look on her face. “Can we go see Aerith now?”

“Uhh… I guess so.” He probably should scold her for punching Sephiroth, but honestly nobody else seems to mind that much and Cloud still has absolutely no idea what’s going on.

“Awesome! Are you going to kiss Aerith when you see her?”

“Am I… What??” Her words finally break through the fog and he stares at the girl, alarmed. “Aerith is dating Zack.”

“So?” Yuffie asks, hands on her hips, the girl looking at him like he was the most obtuse creature she had ever met. He wasn’t the one who had forgotten that Zack was still in the room, though. Granted, Zack _and_ Aerith kept offering to let him join them… but something about it just felt wrong. “Don’t you love her?”

That’s enough to give Cloud pause – did he love her? He certainly had thought so once. But now? Now he’s not so sure. “I…” He tries to think of the girl – the woman – as she once was. Her laughter, her teasing, her _smile_. But while the thought of her alive and vibrant warms him to the core, it doesn’t send sparks tingling through him like it once had. “I don’t, no…” His words surprise him far more than they do Yuffie, but he knows they’re not wrong. “Not like that. I thought I did, but that was probably just Zack’s memories I was hiding behind.”

“But I thought you broke up with Tifa cause you still had feelings for Aerith!”

“It was a mutual breakup, Yuf. We realized that we cared for each other more as friends than as lovers.” While his words are meant for his youngest companion, Cloud doesn’t miss the way Rude perks up, doesn’t miss the hope that now shines in the Turk’s eyes. Oh, so the man still has feelings for Tifa, does he? Cloud was so going to get some amusement out of that.

So caught up in Rude’s lingering crush, Cloud doesn’t notice Yuffie’s changing mood until it’s much too late. “Wait… No…” The girl’s voice is soft, her face scandalized as she gawks at him. “I didn’t think he had actually gotten to you…”

Cloud sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose – he has absolutely no idea what she’s getting at, but whatever it is, it cannot be good. “Whatever it is, Yuffie, no. Just no.”

“No, no, no. I wanna hear this, yo.”

He turns to tell Reno to shut up, but the moment he takes his eyes off Yuffie is the moment everything goes to hell in a handbasket. “I didn’t think you actually liked him! You always acted like he annoyed you!” Yuffie looks him up and down like she was finally seeing him in a new light. “But I guess they say opposites attract and all that…”

“Yuffie, what the hell are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about! That blond guy who followed you _everywhere_!”

“I’m going to need you to be a bit more specific.”

Yuffie growls. “How do you not remember your own lover??”

Were they really going to do this now? He’s not sure what’s worse, the betrayed look on Yuffie’s face for not telling her about this fake lover of his or the pinched one on Sephiroth’s – and he really doesn’t have the mental capacity needed to focus on the latter right now. Best to save it for later… or never. “We’ve been over this before. The only lover I’ve ever had was Tifa and that ended before this time rewind thing.”

The girl’s eyes narrow as she scrutinizes him for any sign of deceit. She wouldn’t find any, though. “So, you’re telling me that there was never anything between you and that blondie?”

“Yuffie, I still have absolutely no idea who you’re talking about.”

“The guy with the long blond hair! Who liked motorcycles! What did Cid call him again?” Her hand comes up to cradle her face as she thinks. “Oh, right! Mulletcycle! Are you really saying nothing happened between the two of you??”

“Mullet…? You’re not talking about Roche, are you?”

Throwing her hands into the air, she gripes, “I don’t know his name! The guy with the mullet and the motorcycle!”

Cloud groans – that was Roche. How had Yuffie come up with the idea that the two of them were a thing? “There’s nothing going on between me and Roche.” Yuffie opens her mouth to object, but he doesn’t give her the chance. “There never was anything between us.”

“Aww, c’mon, Mr. First Class – ” Cloud twitches at the nickname. Would Reno never give that one up? “ – We’re all friends here. Why dontcha tell us – is Roche as much of a speed demon in bed, too?”

“Reno,” Rufus’s smooth voice cuts in, saving Cloud the trouble of having to come up with a response, “If Cloud decides to kill you, just know that you brought it upon yourself.”

Cloud knows he should be thankful that Rufus intervened – and that’s a thought he never expected to have – but it just leaves him even more flabbergasted. He already couldn’t decide whether he should punch Reno or firmly deny any and all sexual involvement with Roche – he really doesn’t want Sephiroth to think he and Roche were an item, and that frustrates him even more – but what was he supposed to think of Rufus helping him? Why would the man choose him over one of his own Turks? Sure, he knows even Rufus must get tired of Reno’s shit, but they were all like family. Cloud was not. Rufus hadn’t taken this ‘might be brothers’ thing to heart that quickly, had he?

But even with how dumbfounded he is, he doesn’t miss the glare that Sephiroth sends Reno – and that, that just serves to tear him further in two. That look will always remind him of Nibelheim. Of fire and pain – _so much pain_. But he can’t deny the sparks that dance throughout his entire body at the thought that Sephiroth might be angry at Reno because of him. Can’t stop the warmth that fills him from head to toe at the idea that Sephiroth might be jealous… No. No. Now is **not** the time to be thinking about that. He does **not** have a crush on Sephiroth.

…And even if he did, Sephiroth surely couldn’t feel the same way.

No. **Stop it.**

Taking a deep breath, he tries to clear his head. Clear his head of _everything_. The wandering thoughts, his straying feelings, the frustratingly pathetic pleas of _touch me_. Things would be better in a few days, right? He can’t take much more of this.

But right now, his best way out is by diverting attention. “Why are you asking me, Reno? You and Roche would be perfect for each other. You’re both super obnoxious.”

But his diversion falls flat, Yuffie choosing that moment to embarrass him even more completely than she already had. “Nuh-uh! Mulletcycle never woulda looked twice at Carrot Top! He only ever had eyes for you!” And if that wasn’t bad enough, Yuffie drops her voice and does a scarily accurate imitation of Roche. “ _Looks like you could use a tune up, my dearest friend. I would **love** to offer my assistance._”

Cloud’s sure his face must be absolutely scarlet by now – of course it sounded bad if Yuffie put it _that_ way. “There wasn’t anything between us!” His voice is higher-pitched than he cares to admit, but it’s all Yuffie’s fault. “Roche was probably just happy to have found somebody who could actually keep up with him.”

Unfortunately, it’s not until the words are out of his mouth that he realizes the innuendo hiding there. From the vicious smirk that spreads across Yuffie’s misleadingly innocent face, he can tell that she didn’t miss it either. “Yeeeaaaahhhh. He just liked the way you handled your motorcycle.”

.

.

.

It takes Cloud a painfully long time to convince everybody that no, there really wasn’t anything between him and Roche. _Ever_. And an even longer time for Reno’s cackling to subside, and that was with Rude taking pity on Cloud and speeding up the process, the bald Turk whacking his sorry excuse for a partner over the back of the head. Rude would definitely be getting brownie points for that.

So, sure, it shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise that Cloud was already itching to leave long before he warned Rufus about Don Corneo’s rather unexpected demise. It doesn’t stop him from recommending three potential replacements, though – he doubts they remember, but Andrea, Madam M, and (to some extent) Sam were all good people.

And with that taken care of, he almost thinks he’s in the clear to wrangle Rude into dropping them off in the slums – he definitely wasn’t going anywhere near Reno right now – but there’s still one last thing he wants to bring up. “Rufus, I’ll take that back pay now.” Cloud takes no small amount of pleasure in the confused look that passes over the man’s face. It was about damn time that somebody else got thrown off kilter for once. Granted, right about now he would have preferred it to be Reno, but Rufus should do nicely.

“What back pay?”

“The pay that was withheld from me when I was purposefully labelled KIA and then given to Hojo to play with.” He doesn’t miss the way that both Zack _and_ Sephiroth wince at his words. But while he feels sorry for reminding Zack of the creep, he has no idea what to make of Sephiroth. “I never did get it. You know, Meteor and all that.”

“Cloud,” Rufus sighs as if he was being particularly bothersome. “That hasn’t happened yet and Hojo’s dead.”

“Tell that to the PTSD I still suffer from.”

Rufus grimaces at the revelation, but doesn’t shoot him down right away. Well, that was a start. “…We’ll work something out.”

“Good.”

* * *

“Oh darling,” Sephiroth can tell from the amused tone to Genesis’s voice that he won’t be getting any paperwork done today. Oh well, it wasn’t like he was really paying attention to it anyway. “I was afraid for a second there that somebody would have had to clean Reno off of your sword.”

“What are you getting at, Genesis?”

Leaning a hip against Sephiroth’s desk, his back to the door, Genesis seems to be entirely within his element. The man inspects his nails idly, but Sephiroth can tell that his attention is undividedly on him – like a cat about to strike. “So you’re saying that you weren’t glaring death at our resident troublemaker for teasing Cloud?”

Sephiroth sighs – perhaps he would have preferred paperwork to another botched session in relationship advice. “Cloud said that there was nothing between him and that other man.”

“You’re changing the subject, don’t think I don’t notice.” Genesis sniffs down at him, unimpressed, but doesn’t push. “But whatever. I’ll play along. Sure, there was nothing between the two of them, but you’re still pouting.”

“Genesis…”

“Oh, please don’t tell me you’re not pouting, I can see your face right now.” From the smirk on Genesis’s face, Sephiroth just knows that this conversation is far from over. “I can understand, though. Cloud is quite the looker even now. Tell me, was he just as pretty as an adult?”

Groaning, Sephiroth tries to shoves all thoughts, all images of adult Cloud to the back of his mind – it certainly wouldn’t help his conflicted feelings now. “I didn’t pay attention to any of that, Genesis. I was too busy trying to make him suffer.”

Genesis raises an eyebrow at him, and Sephiroth can tell that the man doesn’t believe him in the slightest. “Sure you didn’t.”

“Genesis, Cloud’s love life is none of my business. Nor is it any of yours.”

Instead of telling him that he’ll do what he pleases like Sephiroth would have guessed, Genesis remains quiet for a moment, the man giving him a long, searching look before pulling the rug right out from under him. “I don’t think you have to worry about the Puppy either.”

Sephiroth can’t stop his flinch at the mention of their fellow SOLDIER, but thankfully Genesis chooses not to call him out on it. “Zack is a much better fit for him than I am.”

“You heard him turn Zack down, for the second time from the sound of it. Besides, even if there is anything there, it’s probably just Puppy love.”

“Puppy love?” Sephiroth feels his eyes narrow as exasperation sets in. “You did that on purpose.”

Genesis just waves a hand in annoyance as he settles more firmly against the edge of Sephiroth’s desk. “What I’m trying to say is you shouldn’t lose hope so soon. If they do start a relationship, they might not be together for long. We didn’t last, after all.”

“That’s because you and Angeal deserted.”

“Yes, yes, and then you lost yourself to Jenova, I know. But even though we’ve been given this second chance, we still haven’t gotten back together.”

“It was just ‘friends with benefits’ for me, not like with you and Angeal. I know you still pine over him.”

“How did you…” Genesis scowls at him, the man’s voice aggravated, as if he didn’t like being found out by Sephiroth of all people. “How did you figure that out when you couldn’t even realize your own crush?”

“I’ve been around you and Angeal for half of my life, Genesis. I can tell that you still look at him the same way you did before. Why don’t you tell him?”

Something like grief passes through the man’s eyes before he scoffs at the very idea. “I lost him once, I won’t do it again. Especially if this alien freak is out to get us all.”

.

“Shouldn’t I have a say in that?”

.

Genesis whirls around at the sound of the new voice, the man stumbling as he loses his perch on the edge of Sephiroth’s desk. If he’s embarrassed at all by his blunder, he doesn’t have the time to dwell on it, the usually outspoken Commander freezing in place and falling nearly silent at the sight of the familiar intruder. “An…geal.”

Intense gaze rooting Genesis to the spot, Angeal prowls towards him, the man spurred on by the soft gasp that Genesis makes. Stopping a foot’s-breadth away, his eyes never leaving Genesis’s own, their honor-bound friend looks entirely tempted to ravish Genesis right then and there. Sephiroth hopes he doesn’t, though, his office had just been cleaned.

“Genesis.”

Sephiroth can’t help his own smirk – it was about damn time. The two had been dancing around each other for over a year, and Sephiroth was starting to get sick of it. “You were eavesdropping, Angeal.”

“I did knock,” Angeal responds, his gaze remaining fixed on Genesis.

“You were still eavesdropping. That’s not very honorable.”

“I know.”

Sephiroth chuckles. “I can hold down the fort if you two need to _talk_.”

Genesis spins to glare at him, but doesn’t get any further than “Sephiroth, what are you – ” before his wrist is caught in a vice grip, Angeal sending a stiff nod of thanks to Sephiroth before dragging their friend bodily from the room. “Angeal! Just what do you think you’re doing?!”

Sephiroth can only imagine that the phrase “What I should have done a long time ago” is on the tip of Angeal’s tongue. Though, whether the man actually says it or not is anyone’s guess.

But, anyway, Sephiroth hopes that the two of them will be able to work something out. Though, he does wonder if Genesis will be able to walk tomorrow.

* * *

“Thanks for giving us a lift, Rude,” Cloud says as he slides into the copilot chair next to the Turk. He can’t make out Rude’s eyes behind his sunglasses, but he’s pretty sure the man is surprised that Cloud is still here rather than outside with Zack and Yuffie. True, they had already landed in the Sector 5 slums, but Cloud had something he needed to take care of first.

“After everything you’ve done for us, it’s the least I could do.”

While Rude certainly has a point, Cloud’s not going to dwell on it. If he had offered _Reno_ an olive branch, he could certainly do the same for Rude. Especially with the assistance the Turk had provided him earlier. “Thanks for the help with Reno, too.”

“I very much doubt that you needed my help to put Reno in his place, but I know just how… annoying he can be.”

“How do you deal with him?”

“I ignore him.”

“…Does that actually work?”

Rude sends him a very significant look over the rim of his sunglasses before snorting. “No.”

Cloud shouldn’t be surprised – of course ignoring Reno wouldn’t actually work. Shaking his head, he almost says that the red-head would probably just take it as a challenge to be as insufferable as possible. But then he notices the trouble that Yuffie and Zack have gotten up to. Somehow, Yuffie had convinced Zack to join her for an improvised game of Dodge Shuriken, though Cloud’s not entirely sure why the teen had agreed – Yuffie’s ideas were normally bad. But more perplexing is the fact that Zack apparently seemed to think that batting the giant thing away with his sword was a good idea… Well, whatever. Rude had found a small opening near the church to land in, so at least there was no one else around to watch. He could let the two have their fun for now.

When a particularly skilled swing sends Yuffie’s shuriken flying high to land on top of a large pile of rubble, Cloud ignores Yuffie’s squawking – “Be more careful, pretty boy!” – in favor of turning back to Rude. Unable to help the smirk that stretches across his face, he watches as Rude tenses uncomfortably in front of him before revealing the entire reason he had stayed behind in the first place. “Well, anyway, I appreciate the help. I’ll make sure to put in a good word with Tifa.”

Rude’s reaction is as instant and pronounced as Cloud was hoping for, the bald Turk choking on his breath and jerking so violently that he’s almost sent falling from his seat. Well, perhaps it was good Cloud had waited until after they had landed to mess with the man. If they had still been flying, Yuffie would no doubt have been sent crashing to the floor. And with the girl’s motion sickness and the shuriken still strapped to her back at the time, that would have just been mean, even if she had embarrassed him so thoroughly in front of everybody.

As the silence stretches between them, Cloud can tell from the man’s floundering and red face that he has no idea how to respond. That’s fine. Cloud wasn’t done yet. “You’ll have to wait until Tifa’s of age again, but you seem like an ok enough guy. I’ll still be watching you, of course. Don’t think that I won’t. Gotta make sure you’re right for my friend, she deserves the best.”

* * *

Breathless.

That’s probably the best way to describe it. For they hadn’t even made it further than the entryway of Angeal’s apartment before Genesis found himself pinned, the solid weight that was Angeal’s body holding him firm to the door behind him, warm lips devouring his own. He hadn’t even noticed Angeal store the Buster Sword and his own Rapier in the weapon rack on the wall. No, he had been far too busy grousing, because of course Angeal would drag him back to his own apartment. The man knows how much he hates those damn plants!

He had been a moment away from warning the man that if he saw even a single bug, he would be lighting this whole Goddess-forsaken apartment on fire. But then, Angeal had descended on him, one hand on his hip pressing him into the door, the other curling around the back of his head, holding him in place while the man pressed a searing kiss to his mouth, Angeal swallowing any and all complaints.

They shouldn’t be doing this, Genesis knows that. He tries to convince himself that he wouldn’t be able to live through Angeal’s death again. Tries to build up the willpower to pull away, to stop himself before things go too far. But when Angeal’s tongue glides its way across the roof of his mouth, Genesis’s brain short-circuits and he finds himself letting out a low, needy moan and clinging to the man in front of him as if he were his only salvation.

The Goddess only knows how long he stays melded with the man like that, hands dragging him impossibly closer rather than pushing away, before a thick, muscular thigh slots its way between his own. As Angeal grinds into him – _hard_ – Genesis is left to groan pathetically at the friction. From this close, he can feel the evidence of Angeal’s arousal, and Gaia, he had almost forgotten how big the man was.

“ _Gen._ ” Angeal pulls back just enough to breathe his name, voice thick, before claiming his lips once more. If the man’s thorough attentions hadn’t been enough to send all of Genesis’s blood rushing south, then the usually calm and collected SOLDIER sounding so entirely _debauched_ already definitely would have been.

Genesis had long since started kissing back – _Goddess_ was the man good with that tongue of his – his lips meshing seamlessly with Angeal’s in an all-too-familiar dance. A dance he could never forget no matter how he had tried. But why had he even tried? The Goddess had guided him _to bliss, to her gift everlasting_. Why on all of Gaia would he have given him up?

What was he forgetting?

That thought is lost as the hand on his hip starts to map a slow, smooth, _burning_ trail up his side, the fingers on his face grazing down his neck and across his collarbone. Angeal’s hands meet at Genesis’s chest, the man easing his jacket up and over his shoulders and ever so sensually down his arms, their lips never separating once.

It’s only when his jacket and pauldrons are sent clattering to the floor that a single, horrifying thought manages to force its way through the haze that had so thoroughly seized his mind.

_Jenova_.

.

.

.

Cursing his pitiful lovesick heart for allowing himself to get so lost in his passion, he wrenches himself away from Angeal with a loud _pop_ , a thin trail of saliva still connecting them. “By the Goddess, Angeal! Stop!”

“Stop?? It’s been over a year, Genesis!” He’s never seen Angeal look so incredulous – and the man had Zack for a student – impossibly dark mako eyes boring into his own as if Angeal thought he could reach straight into his soul. “You haven’t let me touch you for over a year now! And all you’ve talked about—all you’ve raved about for _months_ is Cloud this and Cloud that! I finally find out that you still feel the same about me and you actually expect me to be _able_ to stop??”

“Have you forgotten about Jeno—”

“I don’t give a damn about Jenova!” Angeal’s voice reverberates around the hallway, his eyes wild, his hands shaking from where they clutch almost desperately at Genesis’s shoulders. “All I want is you!”

Genesis growls. “I can’t lose you again, Angeal! The first time nearly killed me!” Sure, perhaps he was being melodramatic – they were fond of telling him that. And if Angeal brought it up this time, he wouldn’t even try to Firaga him in the face… again. “And I sure as hell won’t watch that alien freak turn you into her b&$#@!”

Genesis hadn’t expected it to be that easy, had figured (not hoped) that the man would try to convince him still. So, he can’t deny his surprise (not disappointment) when Angeal slowly and ever so deliberately removes his hands from Genesis’s shoulders. Well, it would seem that Angeal had finally given in. Good. It’ll make it easier for Genesis to pretend that this had never happened. To trick himself into believing that he didn’t long for Angeal to be pressed up against him again.

But then Angeal crosses his arms over his chest, the man keeping Genesis crowded up against the door. And, oh, Genesis really hates the smirk on his face – the man knew just how to push his buttons. “I never thought I’d see the day when the great Genesis Rhapsodos – ” Genesis so does not twitch “ – was afraid of an alien. Whatever shall I tell Sephiroth?”

You know what, Genesis might just reconsider that cease-Firaga thing. Angeal should know better than to bring Sephiroth into this. “I. am. _not._ afraid.”

“Then why are you doing all of this?”

“I already told you, I won’t lose you again.”

Angeal sighs as if he was being overly difficult. _He_ wasn’t the one who had dragged Angeal to his apartment. But if he had, at least there wouldn’t be any damn plants. “If you push me away, then you’ve already lost me.” Whatever witty retort, whatever sharp comeback was on the tip of Genesis’s tongue is lost with those words, and he’s left gaping up unattractively at his oldest friend. “Jenova’s hold on Sephiroth was stronger because he thought himself to be all alone. What if our connections to those we love is our greatest defense?”

Greatest defense? Was it really that simple? Was loving him really enough to ward off Jenova?

Wait… Love?

Genesis’s thoughts come screeching to a halt as he finally processes Angeal’s confession. Angeal loves him? Would Genesis really be able to give the man up after hearing that? Would he honestly be able to forget the man after touching him again, after _tasting_ him again?

He doesn’t think so. But, more importantly, he doesn’t want to.

_“My friend, your desire. Is the bringer of life, the gift of the Goddess.”_

Jenova be damned. Genesis wasn’t afraid of that freak. Hell if he would let her have Angeal. He would burn her and the entire reactor to ash before he let her dig her alien claws into _his_ man.

His recitation and the determination now shining in his eyes are all that are needed for Angeal’s face to melt into an expression of pure hope. Oh, the darling probably thought that Genesis was going to make things easy for him. The man should know him better by now.

Balling his hands up in Angeal’s sweater, he allows the besotted smile to spread across the man’s face for a second, before giving Angeal a good, solid tug, using his grip on the man’s sweater to quickly and skillfully swap their positions. As he presses the length of his body up against Angeal’s, he weaves a hand into the hair at the back of the man’s head and tugs, _hard_. “I’ll have you know, _Angeal_ – ” he relishes the way Angeal shudders as he drawls his name “ – I’m not the submissive type.”

Angeal’s voice is only slightly shaky as he responds, “I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

Drawing himself up to his full height – not because he was upset that Angeal was taller than him, no matter what that tiny child would say – he allows his mouth to ghost over Angeal’s as he orders, _“Bedroom. Now.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This chapter originally had a scene with Rufus and Tseng at the end. That has been moved to its own piece ([Should We Really Be Doing This Here, Sir?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29186784)) so I could keep the teen rating for this main fic.**
> 
> \- Just a reminder that the next chapter won't be posted for two weeks. Hopefully, this chapter is enough to tide people over until then.  
> \- In the original game, if you talk to Yuffie before entering the final dungeon, she'll ask you to sign a contract saying that when the war is over, all the materia will belong to her. Cloud will refuse to sign, but the excuse he gives is because they're on the airship and when he reads he gets airsick... Which as far as reasons go for not giving Yuffie all of your materia, that wouldn't have been my choice. But anyway, that's where that reference comes from. (When Cloud says no, Yuffie's like “Damn! My plan failed. Let’s pick on Red XIII later to let off steam.”)  
> \- Roche's nickname in the Remake is Speed Demon (or Speed Junkie in Japanese, I think).  
> \- This was my first time writing anything like the scene with Angeal and Genesis - I hope it worked out for everybody!


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!
> 
> Thanks for all the well-wishes, everyone 🥰 I'm feeling much better now. Though, I am going to stick with a biweekly update schedule for the time being. It'll be much easier for me to maintain while still working full-time. So, the next chapter should be out on the 28th.

Cloud had thought he was ready. Ready to see Aerith again. He had spent so much time with her and Zack while his memories still failed him, so it shouldn’t have come as that much of a surprise to find either of them living again. Sure, his reunion with Zack was a little emotional, but he still did a pretty good job of it, he thinks. He handled himself rather well, considering. And naturally he thought that this reunion would go just as well.

He was wrong.

He hadn’t made it more than five steps into the church when he found himself freezing head to toe, Yuffie’s shuriken hanging limply from his hand. For in the center of the room, kneeling in front of her flowers, like she always was in his dreams, was Aerith.

There’d been flashes of her, of course, when he had been living out of the church. Soft laughter here, the flick of a braid there, the words _I’ll be going now_ playing on repeat through his grief-riddled mind. But the sight of her here now – so real, so _alive_ – is both more wonderful and far more painful than anything his depression had be able to conjure up.

He’s not the only one who startles to a stop, either. Yuffie stands speechless next to him for once, the girl gaping unbelievingly at the sight of their once-lost friend. Cloud can understand, though. The light shining through the holes in the roof definitely does a splendid job of making Aerith appear far more ethereal than ever. She had always seemed rather angelic before, but the sunlight bathing her now just gives her a distressingly otherworldly glow. And that, in and of itself, is a nearly unbearable reminder of her death.

Luckily (or frustratingly), Zack takes their paralysis in stride, the teen patting _both_ of them on the head as he calls out to Aerith. “Hey, babe? I have a surprise for you.”

“Huh?” Aerith stands and turns towards them, her eyes immediately landing on Cloud. “Oh! Hi Cloud!”

He had thought that seeing her again was bad enough, but the warm smile she sends him – the same one as when she had died – literally takes his breath away. And all he can do is croak pitifully as his heart clenches painfully in his chest. “A-Aerith…”

Her smile disappears at his sorry display, concern now etching itself across her face – even with his memories back, all he’s good for is worrying her. “Cloud, are you ok?” She takes a step forward as if to check on him, Cloud still no help whatsoever, when she finally notices Yuffie and a small sound of surprise passes her lips. “Yuffie, is that you?”

Aerith’s attention is all the invitation Yuffie needs to pull herself from her stupor and launch herself at their friend – “Aerith!!!” – fat tears falling behind her as she runs. It was probably good that Cloud had confiscated her weapon when he did, otherwise he wouldn’t have had the time nor the wherewithal to save Aerith from a potentially sharp greeting.

Kneeling just in time, Aerith catches Yuffie, letting the girl cling to her like she had to Cloud in the storage room. And as Yuffie starts to wail into her collarbone, Aerith pulls her closer, gently coaxing her from her sorrow just as Cloud had done earlier. “Shh, Yuffie, it’s ok. I’m here now.” Her hand rubs slow circles into the girl’s back as she continues to whisper. “None of that was your fault, dear. Nobody blames you.”

Cloud is still a little dazed as he walks up the aisle and gently lies Yuffie’s shuriken and his equipment against the side of one of the pews. This was real, all of it was. Sure, he should have realized that after seeing Zack… and Sephiroth again, but perhaps the adrenaline coursing through him earlier and the overwhelming need to find Yuffie had made those confrontations easier. Or maybe just having confirmation that both Zack _and_ Aerith were actually alive again really hammered everything home, in an extremely visceral way.

“Cloud wouldn’t let me keep all the materia I found!”

Yuffie’s whining voice pulls him from his memories just as Aerith turns shining eyes his way, a question plainly visible behind her unshed tears. A question that was probably meant to determine whether he remembered as much as if what Yuffie said was true. Cloud nods in response – his voice still not working – and the smile that stretches over Aerith’s face is the brightest and most dazzling he’s ever seen. “Don’t you mean the materia that you stole?” Aerith teases, a bright laugh bubbling out of her as she squeezes Yuffie tighter.

“You’re supposed to be on my side!”

Yuffie can’t see Aerith’s answering smirk, but Cloud definitely doesn’t miss it, his eyes still glued to her shining face as they are. “You haven’t forgotten that you stole my materia, too, once upon a time?”

“I said I was sorry…”

Aerith just laughs at Yuffie’s petulance and presses a big kiss to her forehead. “I’m so happy to see you, Yuffie.”

“Well, I’m happier!”

Cloud doesn’t know when he starts crying. He doesn’t even realize he had until Aerith is in front of him, wiping his tears away like she had only a few days ago. “Hey you,” she murmurs, reaching forward to tap him on the nose.

Cloud blinks once, twice, and then sighs – both out of exasperation and utter fondness. “Did you just boop me on the nose?”

Giggling happily – so happily that Cloud couldn’t have it in him to be upset even if he wanted to – Aerith pulls him into the tightest hug yet. “It’s so good to have you back,” she says, one thumb brushing across his neck, the other over his ribcage as she holds him to her.

“It’s good to be back… Aerith,” Cloud responds, wrapping his arms loosely and ever so cautiously around her in return. He might be unenhanced, but he’s still not entirely sure of his own strength. He can’t hurt her again.

But Aerith was always good at reading him – entirely _too_ good – and she pulls his arms around her tighter, scolding him, “You’re not going to blame yourself for anybody’s deaths anymore, you understand?”

He opens his mouth to complain, to contradict her – entirely on instinct – but, no, Aerith’s right. He does blame himself. He’s always blamed himself. If only he had been faster, stronger, _better_ … But he knows just how stubborn Aerith (and Zack) can be. Just how easily they can see right through him. If he doesn’t want to be lectured on how everything is not his fault – but really with the name ‘Strife’, it kinda was – there really was only one course of action right now. “…Yes, ma’am.”

“Good boy.”

* * *

If Yuffie hadn’t liked Rufus and Cloud scolding her for attacking Sephiroth and throwing the whole Tower into chaos, then she absolutely loathed Aerith doing it. “You’re supposed to be on my side!” rang through the church once more as Yuffie dissolved into a childish rant about how it wasn’t fair that Sephiroth got Cloud all to himself. Cloud’s face had definitely heated up faster than Ifrit’s flames at her words, and Aerith hadn’t made matters any better by winking at him.

To lighten the mood, and to perhaps distract Aerith from scolding her for Don Corneo’s death – though going from the twinkle in Aerith’s eyes, her heart definitely wouldn’t have been in it – Yuffie begs to show off her knack for gardening (“I know soooo much about flowers now!”). And Cloud finds himself lying on the closest pew as Yuffie starts showing off her ‘mad skills’. She had tried to convince him to join in, too – threatened, really – but Cloud had some calls to make.

One hand cradling his head, he dials Tifa’s number – after everything they had been through together, after everything she had done for him, she would always be his first. The call is answered almost immediately, Tifa’s worried voice drifting over the line. _“Cloud, are you ok?”_

“Yeah, I’m fine, Tif.” She sucks in a harsh breath at his use of that nickname, and he feels a smile spread over his face – he was glad he finally remembered, too. “Though, I do have a question for you.”

_“Y-Yes?”_

“Did I really brag about being trained by Sephiroth??”

Tifa gasps, the relief (and tears) evident in her voice as she chuckles at him. _“You really remember…”_

“I do. Thanks for always having my back, Tif.” Before he can say anything more, though, there’s a soft rumbling from the other end and Tifa’s answering, _“It’s Cloud, dad.”_ He’s almost surprised at how easily that sentence unnerves him, but the man had never liked him, and had always been very verbal about it. “Tifa, what are you – ”

_“Hold on, Cloud, my dad wants to talk to you.”_

“Tifa, wait! No!”

_“Cloud.”_

Cloud hopes his nervous gulp isn’t audible, but he guesses Tifa’s father is almost as scary for his 14-year-old self as Sephiroth is for his adult one. “Uh… Hello, Mr. Lockhart, sir.”

The man laughs at him in response, and this was _so_ not how he had expected this conversation to start. But the words that come out of Mr. Lockhart’s mouth next shock him even further. _“Thanks for looking out for my daughter.”_

“…I’m sorry, sir, can you run that by me again?” The words are out of his mouth on auto-pilot, but nobody can blame him for his confusion – how else was he supposed to react to the man _thanking_ him?

Mr. Lockhart laughs again – which really doesn’t help _anything_ , but whatever. _“Tifa told me about everything – Sephiroth, the mako reactors, Meteorfall. Thanks for keeping my daughter safe, Cloud.”_

“Oh, I… Uh.” Out of all the reasons Tifa’s dad could have for thanking him – which honestly was a pretty non-existent list from Cloud’s viewpoint – the man knowing _everything_ never would have crossed his mind. “To be honest, sir, Tifa’s saved my behind – ” he almost says ‘ass’, but that probably wouldn’t endear the man further to him “ – so many times, too.”

_“Regardless, thanks for being there for her.”_

“Of course, sir.”

_“Also_ ,” there’s a regretful tint to the man’s voice, and wasn’t that a first for Cloud, too. _“I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have blamed you for Tifa’s fall. I wanted a target for my anger and you were easy prey. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions so hastily.”_ Cloud tries to tell the man that he’s overreacting, but Tifa’s dad cuts him off, _“Let me finish, please. Regardless of whether you were at fault or not, I shouldn’t have turned a blind eye to your bullies. Can you forgive an old fool like me, Cloud?”_

“But, sir – ”

_“Don’t try to tell me that her fall actually was your fault, young man. Tifa told me everything. Like how you still blame yourself for everything.”_

“I… I should have been faster, sir.”

_“Cloud. It wasn’t your fault. Think you can repeat that for me?”_

Cloud sniffles, the arm that was cushioning his head now rubbing rather frantically at his burning eyes. Damn these 14-year-old emotions. “I… I-It wasn’t m-my fault…” If Mr. Lockhart hears the way his voice quivers, he’s kind enough not to say anything.

_“Good. Now I want you to work on actually believing that. Ok?”_

“…Yes, sir.”

When the PHS is finally returned to Tifa, Cloud can’t help himself. “What. the hell. just happened?” he bites out, exasperation blending easily with the massive confusion already roiling in him. Good Gaia, was everybody tag-teaming on him today? Could he not go an hour without somebody telling him not to blame himself?

Giggling, Tifa’s answer is simple, if a little less than helpful. _“What should have happened a long time ago.”_

“Whatever you say…”

They fall into a comfortable silence at that, Tifa humming contently on the other end, Cloud watching Yuffie be calm for perhaps the first time in her life, the girl running her hands happily through the dirt. He’s glad he brought her here, Aerith was definitely a good influence on her. _“Cloud…”_ his ears perk up at the sorrow in his friend’s voice. _“Marlene and Denzel… They’re gone…”_

Sitting back up, Cloud pulls a knee to his chest and tries to blink back the returning tears. He still can’t stop the grief from seeping into his voice as he tries to console her, “I know, Tif. I miss them, too. But… I guess now they can finally know their birth parents.” He knows it’s probably better this way, but why does he feel so terrible?

_“I want them back…”_

“…Same here, Tifa.”

There’s a much louder commotion this time and what he swears is another, grating cry of _“Marlene!!!!”_ He can already guess that somebody else is there even before Tifa’s muffled voice comes through the speaker. _“It’s Cloud. He remembers. Hey, let go – ”_

_“It’s about damn time!”_ Cloud yanks the PHS from his ear as Barret yells – the man was always so dang loud. _“Tifa, what are you – No.”_

_“Stop being a brat, Barret. Give me back my phone.”_

_“But I want to talk to him, too!”_

_“We can put him on speaker!”_ Tifa shouts, obviously annoyed with Barret’s immaturity. She must be successful in re-confiscating her PHS, cause her voice is much softer as it comes over the line again. _“There. Now we can all talk to him.”_

_“Howdy, kiddo!”_

A great big smile stretches across Cloud’s face – he would know that gruff voice anywhere. “Cid. How’s it – ”

But he doesn’t get any further than that, as Barret interrupts again. _“You sure took your good ol’ time, Blondie!”_

“Aww, Barret. I love you, too.” His ‘confession’ is horribly dry, but that doesn’t stop Barret’s embarrassed spluttering. Hopefully that would teach the man not to interrupt him.

_“Aww! You made Barret blush!”_ Tifa’s giggling is easily drowned out by Cid’s boisterous guffawing. _“Oh my! What’re ya gonna tell dear ol’ Myrna?”_

_“Shut up, Cid! Who asked you?? I’m just glad he remembers is all! I’m allowed to miss my friend – ”_

Barret’s ranting continues more or less unheard as Cloud’s eyes fall on Yuffie and a smirk makes its way over his face – he’s so going to enjoy this. Stretching, he rises from his spot on the pew and takes the few steps needed to make it to the edge of the flowerbed. “Barret, hold that thought. I’ve got a surprise for you.” He doesn’t wait for a response as he crouches in front of Yuffie, winking when the girl’s mischievous eyes catch his own. Pressing the button to put his PHS on speaker, he holds the device out in front of Yuffie. “Say hi.”

Yuffie certainly doesn’t disappoint, the girl taking a deep breath before hollering into the phone, her hands still playing with the dirt. “Haw haw haw! Did ya losers miss me?!?”

_“Wait, Yuffie??”_ Tifa’s surprise is once more lost, Barret _and_ Cid taking the opportunity to freak out, matching shouts of _“Brat, what the hell are you doin’ in Midgar??”_ and _“Yuffie, what the hell are you doing??”_ ringing through the main sanctum.

“Saving Cloud from Sephiroth, of course!”

_“Saving Cloud…?”_

“Guys…” Cloud’s the one who interrupts Barret this time, the hints of a blush definitely not growing on his cheeks. “You’ll never guess what Yuffie just did.”

Cid cackles. _“I love where this conversation’s goin’ already!”_

* * *

Vincent was next – Cloud still hadn’t thanked him properly for his help with Johnson… Or thanked him at all really. He’s barely dialed the number that Aerith had given him, though, when Vincent picks up, the Turk-once-more answering simply, _“Cloud.”_

Well… that was unexpected. Aerith had said that Vincent refused to take Cloud’s phone number, something about wanting Cloud to give it up freely – which Cloud won’t deny is absolutely adorable and so very much Vincent. So, naturally, Cloud had fully expected the man to be in the dark as to who was calling… and he might have been brainstorming ways to get some amusement out of Vincent’s shock. “Aww, Vincent, you took the fun outta that.” He really hadn’t expected his words to come out as that much of a whine, but whatever, he’ll blame it on being a kid again.

_“I didn’t know the number and the President just told me that you remember, so I connected the dots.”_

“Vincent’s so smart!” Aerith cheers, the girl clapping happily around the trowel in her hands.

_“Aerith,”_ Vincent returns.

“I see you finally got your own PHS,” Cloud points out – the man certainly hadn’t had one the last time he remembered him.

_“Rufus insisted I needed one for the job. Besides, somebody told me they would let me know if sins are ever forgiven. I’ve been waiting.”_

Cloud smiles ruefully, he remembers that conversation in the Forgotten City. Remembers telling Vincent that he would ‘phone in the verdict’. But then everything with Kadaj and Sephiroth (and getting blown up) had happened so fast that he had forgotten. Though, he supposes he does have a verdict now. “It seems that they really can be forgiven,” he tells Vincent, sending Aerith and Zack a meaningful look.

Vincent’s answering sigh is barely audible, but the relief in it is unmistakable. _“That’s good to hear...”_

As Vincent trails off, Cloud figures now is as good of a time as any. Gesturing to Yuffie, he tries to get her ready to prank the Turk, too, a twinkle already appearing in the girl’s eyes. Vincent may have ruined the surprise of Cloud remembering, but at least they can still pull the rug out from underneath the man with Yuffie’s presence. But he supposes he really should have known better, Vincent not missing a beat to remind them exactly why he was (and always will be) a Turk. _“I assume Yuffie is there with you, too. Or did she sneak off to cause mass mayhem again?”_

Yuffie groans from next to Cloud, dirt sent flying as she flails her arms in displeasure. “You weren’t supposed to know, ya meanie!!!”

_“Hello, Yuffie.”_ Vincent doesn’t seem at all bothered by Yuffie’s petulant grumbling – “Not sayin’ hi to a meanie like you” – the man instead informing her, _“I hope you realize that the President is punishing Tseng for that little stunt you pulled.”_

“Good! That traitor deserves it!”

Yuffie must still be mad at Tseng for ‘betraying his country’, then. But even lost in his thoughts as he is, Cloud doesn’t miss the smirk in Vincent’s voice as he replies, _“I’m pretty sure Tseng is enjoying his **punishment**.”_

The effect of Vincent’s revelation is immediate and violent, Cloud left to choke on his spit – cause of course Vincent would be the only one getting anything over anybody – while Aerith laughs merrily. Cloud supposes he shouldn’t be so surprised. If Aerith shipped him and Zack, then of course she would ship Rufus and Tseng. Heck, she even seemed thrilled with the idea of him and Seph… No. Stop that train of thought **right. there.**

“I don’t get it!” Yuffie’s aggravated complaining makes its way through his pathetic display, Zack following suit shortly after, “Right there with you, kiddo.”

Cloud might have been surprised that Yuffie wasn’t suspicious of Rufus and Tseng’s relationship – she certainly had noticed Roche’s attentions – but he was still somewhat rattled from Vincent’s disclosure. Luckily, he doesn’t have to stumble through an explanation for their undoubtedly R-rated activities, Aerith taking over the conversation and winking at her boyfriend. “It’s ok, Zack. You’ll understand when you’re older.”

* * *

Last but not least was Nanaki. Cloud had made sure to grab his friend’s number – well, Bugenhagen’s number – from Vincent after he talked with Reeve. He still has absolutely no idea what Reeve meant about leaving Cait Sith in Corel, but whatever, it was really good to hear his voice again.

But now, now it was Nanaki’s turn. He never would forget Nanaki, not even with how he was still reeling from Vincent’s revelation that ‘Johnson had lost his johnson’. He didn’t even have it in him to be exasperated with the pun. Nobody else seemed to mind, either – Aerith had just laughed, leaving Vincent pleased that at least somebody liked his joke.

_“Hello?”_

“Hi, Master Bugenhagen. It’s Cloud.”

_“Ho ho ho! I take it you remember then, little one?”_

“Yes, sir.”

_“Fantastic! Nanaki! Cloud’s on the phone! He remembers!”_ The rushed clomping of paws follows, and then Bugenhagen is chortling once more. _“Ho ho ho! Slow down, young one! He’s not going anywhere!”_

_“Cloud.”_ Nanaki pants as if he had been running for miles rather than from one end of his house in Cosmo Canyon to the other. _“You really remember?”_ The raw hope in his friend’s voice now is in stark contrast to the smug amusement from a few weeks ago.

“Yeah, Nanaki. Sorry it took me so long.”

_“How are you doing?”_ Cloud tenses at the worry in Nanaki’s voice, he feels like he already knows what’s coming next. _“Vincent told me about Johnson…”_

Even though he was half-expecting it, Cloud still can’t help his slight (massive?) wince at the bully’s name – this was getting old really quickly – but at least Nanaki was on an entirely different continent and couldn’t see him. “No need to worry, I’m fine.”

Cloud thought he had done a pretty good job of masking the pain, of keeping his voice masterfully even. But he must have given himself away somehow, Aerith and Zack grimacing unhappily next to him, Nanaki calling attention to his fib, _“…It still bothers you, though.”_

Cloud groans. “Nanaki, you’re thousands of miles away right now. Could you pretend that you can’t read my mind for like 5 minutes?”

_“My apologies.”_ Nanaki’s chuckling is proof enough that his apology isn’t entirely sincere.

“Wait, wait!” Yuffie yells, coming to Cloud’s defense while also giving herself away. “Just who is this Johnson?! Vincent mentioned him, too! Do I need to kick his sorry ass?!?”

The hush on the other end of the line only serves to highlight Aerith’s mumbled “Probably”, but then Nanaki is sighing, hard and long-suffering. _“Should I even ask what Yuffie is doing there?”_

“Rescuing Cloud, duhhhhh!”

Rolling his eyes, Cloud tries to will back his growing embarrassment as he gives his friend a more accurate explanation. “Yuffie snuck into the Shinra Building, managed to make it all the way to the top of the Tower undetected, and then tried to kill Sephiroth. Something about stopping him from seducing me to the dark side.”

_“Ho ho ho!!”_ Bugenhagen’s laughter echoes through the PHS and around the church as Aerith sends a sly look Yuffie’s way, “It’s a good thing Sephiroth doesn’t know you’re supposed to offer cookies.”

“Oh, good point!”

Nanaki breaks his weighted silence with a sound somewhere between a groan and a growl. _“Of course she did. Why am I not surprised?”_

“Cause I’m the best there is!!”

_“That’s not what I meant.”_

“Hey, hey, Red – ” Cloud can imagine Nanaki is probably rolling his eyes right about now “ – will you let me ride on your back now??”

_“…No, Yuffie.”_

“Oh, c’mon! I’m only 9 this time and you’re a strong kitty!! _Puh-leaaassssseeeeeeee!_ ”

_“No, Yuffie.”_

“Stingy!”

* * *

It’s not until he’s promised to call again once things have settled down that Nanaki allows him to hang up. Returning his PHS to his pocket, Cloud sends Yuffie a sly grin. “Hey, Yuf. Race ya to the attic.”

The girl’s face lights up immediately and she returns Cloud’s look with a cocky one of her own. “Ohhh, you’re on!” Pulling her hands from the dirt, she gives them a long, thoughtful glance before wiping them off on Zack’s pants. Ignoring Zack’s mostly confused “Hey!”, she sizes the teen up. “Whaddya say, pretty boy – race me next?”

“I don’t know…” Zack runs a hand through his hair, stalling like he was trying to find a way out of indulging the girl. “I’m still recovering from our game of Whack-a-Shuriken earlier.”

Cloud only half-hears Yuffie’s “woulda smoked you anyway…”, puzzled as he is. He’s tempted to ask who had come up with such a ridiculous name – honestly it could go both ways – but then morbid understanding sinks in as Zack’s words fully process. “Whack… a-Shuriken?”

“Yeah!” Yuffie exclaims, the girl back to her normal, vibrant self. “It’s where I throw my shuriken and pretty boy here – ” she gestures to Zack as if Cloud didn’t already know who she was talking about “ – tries to whack it away with his sword!”

“Yes, Yuffie, I know. I saw.” Cloud pinches the bridge of his nose, Aerith smiling sympathetically at him. “What I want to know is whether Zack batting your giant ass shuriken away was the entire point of the game in the first place?”

Yuffie grimaces – “Uh oh, he’s mad” – while Zack answers sheepishly, “Well, I mean… The kid insisted that I would never ever in a million years be able to block her attacks. What else was I supposed to do?”

“Ignore her?” Cloud answers flatly. Next to him, Aerith sighs, the girl sounding just as unimpressed with her boyfriend as Cloud was.

“Angeal’s always saying that I need to protect my honor as SOLDIER!”

“That’s not what Hewley meant and you know it.” Cloud shakes his head. “I don’t know whether I should be surprised or not that you allowed yourself to be baited by a 9-year-old…”

Zack pouts. “That’s not very nice, Cloudy…”

“You and Yuffie are never allowed to be alone together again. Do I make myself clear?” Cloud orders. Granted, Zack does technically outrank him by a lot, but old habits were hard to break. Cloud had been the one everybody relied on for so long before this whole time rewind thing. And from the sound of things, they still were.

Zack and Yuffie turn as one to Aerith – and why did it feel like they were asking mom after dad said no? But Aerith just raises an eyebrow at them, not swayed in the slightest by their twin puppy dog eyes. “Don’t look at me like that, you two. I’m with Cloud on this one.”

If he wasn’t already so exasperated with the two of them, Cloud would almost be impressed with how in sync their answering “Noooo fairrrrr…” is.

.

.

.

“On your mark!”

Aerith faces them, one arm held high in the air as she counts down. Fingers flexing on instinct, Cloud goes over the route he plans to take once more. Sure, Yuffie had speed – possibly more so than he did now that he was unenhanced – but Cloud knew the church better than the back of his hand. If he played his cards right, he totally had this in the bag.

“Get set!”

On the other side of the church, in front of the other set of doors, Yuffie crouches closer to the ground, the same cocky grin back on her face.

“Go!”

Aerith drops her arm and Cloud is off like a shot (or like Yuffie after a horde of materia). He takes the same path he had when he was (unintentionally) hiding from Aerith and Biggs – up the stairs, over that dang crate, and down the hallway to the ladder as fast as his frustratingly small legs will take him.

It’s not until he’s placed his foot on the first rung of the ladder that he notices that Yuffie was being uncharacteristically quiet. He thought he would have at least heard or spotted her on his dash to the ladder, but perhaps she had gotten sidetracked. There probably were a few orbs of materia lying around here somewhere – he definitely remembers seeing a few when he and Aerith were running from Reno.

Distracted as he is, he doesn’t realize his mistake until it’s entirely too late. Halfway up the ladder, he’s already (silently) congratulating himself on his victory when Yuffie’s head pops out from the opening to the attic. “Wow, you’re really slow.”

Heaving a great sigh, Cloud feels disappointment roll in as he trudges the rest of the way up the ladder – of course Yuffie would find some way to beat him. Why had he thought he could outclimb even a 9-year-old Yuffie? “How did you get up here so quickly?” He asks, defeated, once he finally pulls himself into the attic. She must have been here since before he had even finished climbing those two flights of stairs, and wasn’t that quite the blow to what pride he did have.

“I’m a ninja, duhhhh.” She blows a raspberry at his undoubtedly pitiful-looking face. “There was rubble leading alllll the way to the top floor,” she expands, using her best _who do you even think you’re talking to_ voice. “I coulda just shimmied up one of those pillars, though. Wouldn’t have been _that_ difficult.”

“You really are the best…” he concedes (not bemoans), running a weary hand through his hair. He guesses the girl had been right before, the only thing he had going for him was his enhancements – _I woulda totally roasted you if you were playing fair…_

“…could say it like ya mean it…” she grumbles dejectedly.

And, oh, the pout on her face does him in. She was only 9 now, he had no right acting like a sore loser over her well-earned victory, regardless of how humiliating it was for him. Ruffling her hair, he drops down in front of her, a smile now on his face. “Sorry, Yuf. You really are the best.” The sincerity in his voice is enough to convince her to return his smile, the girl practically beaming now. “You really got me good.”

“Didn’t I??”

He chuckles at her excitement. “You sure did.”

* * *

“Go!”

Aerith watches fondly as Cloud and Yuffie race off. She’s so glad that they’re finally having some fun. That _Cloud’s_ finally having some fun – he sure has had a rough few days. But even more so, she’s _so_ incredibly happy that Cloud was whole again. That she got to see him whole again.

Or perhaps she was seeing him whole for the first time ever.

Sure, there had been glimpses of his true self here and there, even back then. That was why she had joined him in the first place – that and because he reminded her of Zack, but who could blame her for clinging to even a vision of her lost love? But those glimpses could never measure up to the reality. Could never _prepare_ her for the reality of seeing Cloud so vibrant, so _alive_.

And honestly, it left her almost as speechless as seeing Zack again. She had been so overcome with a terrible yet wonderful mix of hope and grief that she had defaulted to scolding Zack for keeping her waiting, just so she could stop herself from crying in front of him.

…She had still cried, of course, but he hadn’t said anything. He was too busy crying himself.

Wiping away her tears now, she turns to find Zack watching her, a dopey little smile on his face. She can’t help the blush nor the fluttering sensation in her stomach even as she rolls her eyes at her goof of a boyfriend. “What are you looking at?”

His smile grows, twinkling eyes never leaving hers while he ambles up to her. “I missed you.”

“You just saw me yesterday,” she teases, poking a finger into his side.

But Zack catches her hand, the charmer threading their fingers together as his other hand comes up to card through her hair. “I always miss seeing your beautiful face.”

Aerith snorts. “Flatterer,” she accuses, but doesn’t stop him as he cups her face and leans down for a soft kiss.

She had figured it would just be a small peck since they weren’t exactly alone. But as the seconds pass, Zack’s lips continuing to slide against hers in a slow, gentle dance, she gets the feeling that the teen won’t be sated that quickly. Sighing through her nose, she pulls back ever so slightly, tutting as Zack tries to follow. “Zack, the kids are upstairs,” she reminds him.

“That’s ok. We’ll be quiet,” he whispers, pulling her back in and brushing their lips together once more.

“GET A ROOM!!!”

Breaking away from Zack with a soft ‘oh!’, Aerith looks up to find Yuffie leering down at them from the ceiling, the girl cackling at their dumbstruck expressions. Cloud groans next to her, a hand coming up to rub his forehead. “Sorry about that,” Cloud calls, the tone of his voice obviously embarrassed. “Yuffie is… well, Yuffie.” Ignoring her swatting hand – “What’s that supposed ta mean??” – Cloud points to the hole in the roof behind him. “We’ll leave you two alone. We’re going treasure hunting.”

Aerith giggles. “Up on the rooftops?”

“That’s where the best treasure is!” Yuffie claims, the girl trying to strike a pose even as Cloud ushers her across the ceiling joists and outside.

Shaking her head, she turns to find Zack with one hand on his hip, the other scratching his head. “Well… Guess we were caught,” he concedes, an entirely dazed look on his face.

“You can’t get anything by Yuffie. She’s sneaky sneaky.”

“I can see that…”

“Now…” she drawls, waiting until Zack’s attention is on her again before asking, “Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or do I have to guess?”

His shock lasts for the barest of seconds, something like grief flickering through his eyes as he deflates in front of her. Chuckling bitterly, he observes, “You and Cloud sure know me so well.”

“That’s because we care about you a great deal.”

Zack smiles sadly. “You sure do,” he agrees, his arms sliding around her and cradling her to him. She lets him hold her like that, breathing her in, her arms coming up instinctively to provide the comfort he so obviously needs until he’s found his words. Until he’s ready to share what is so clearly hurting him. “The troopers that were after Cloud and Yuffie…” He sighs, his fingers twitching around her. “They were the ones that killed me last time.”

Her inhale is harsh and entirely involuntary. “Oh, Zack…”

“For a second there, I was back on that cliffside again, convinced that I would never see you again.”

She pulls him closer as she vows, “They can’t have you again, you hear me? I won’t allow it. I’ll keep you safe this time.”

Zack’s laughter is light and wonderfully sincere this time. “Yes, ma’am.”

* * *

“The Great Ninja Yuffie wins again!!” Yuffie declares after she’s jumped from the rooftops to the ground below. “And the crowd goes wild!” Miming a roaring crowd, the girl does her best to thoroughly rub her ‘victory’ in Cloud’s face.

There’s only one problem.

“We weren’t even racing, Yuffie,” Cloud sighs once he’s joined her on the ground. “Besides, weren’t you the one begging to jump first? Something about showing me how it’s done or whatnot?”

“You’re only saying that cause you lost!” Yuffie quips, the girl sticking her tongue out at him. But whatever Cloud’s about to say, whatever retort he had come up with is lost as the mischievous glint fades from Yuffie’s eyes, the girl pointing at something behind Cloud. “Intruders!”

Whirling around purely on instinct, Cloud’s eyes have barely landed on these so-called intruders when he notices movement in his periphery. Shooting a hand out just in the nick of time, he grabs Yuffie by the scruff of her neck and pulls her back before she can embarrass him anymore that day. “Yuffie, these are my friends.”

For standing in front of them now, entirely stunned, are Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie.

“Bro?”

“Heya, Wedge,” Cloud replies, offering an awkward wave to go with his greeting.

Sniffling, a hopeful look starts to dawn on Wedge’s face, but the boy remains cautiously quiet – perhaps afraid of the answer to whatever question was running through his head. Instead, Biggs takes his silence as permission to step forward hesitantly. “Hey, Cloud… You’re looking better.”

Cloud snorts – he can imagine. “I’m feeling better, too. Thanks for having my back, guys.” And as he turns to Jessie, that hopeful, wide-eyed look is mirrored on all three of their faces. “Though I do have to say, Jessie – you still owe me a pizza.”

Jessie chokes, one hand covering her mouth, the girl remaining otherwise rooted to the spot. “You really…?”

Cloud chuckles and shakes his head – it sure was good to see them again. “Yeah, Jessie, I remember.”

Wedge is the first to act, the boy needing no additional encouragement to launch himself at Cloud, a strangled cry of “Bro!” passing his lips. Cloud’s almost tempted to remind Wedge that they aren’t brothers, but as he wraps his arms around the trembling boy, he supposes he can just let it go. “It’s good to see you, too, Wedge.”

A few seconds pass before Jessie’s wavering voice finds its way through Wedge’s waterworks. Her words – “I’m all for this type of action!” – are the only warning Cloud has before she’s colliding with him, too, the girl laughing cheerfully while Wedge continues to sniffle against him.

He’s not sure how long the three of them remain tied up together, Jessie and Wedge clinging to him tightly, Yuffie oddly quiet and reserved next to him. But when he does pull back, Wedge’s tears have long since dried. Before Cloud can let go and figure out what had happened to Biggs, he finds himself trapped, Jessie wrapping her arms around his neck and fluttering her eyelashes at him. “It’s so good to have you back, honey!”

Cloud sighs – so they were doing _this_ again. “I see you really haven’t changed, Jessie.”

“You’re so sweet!”

Rolling his eyes, Cloud pries Jessie off of him with a soft “Happy to see you, too.” Ignoring her feigned swoon (all the world’s a stage?), Cloud steps over to Biggs and raises an eyebrow at the still-frozen teen. “Well?”

But Biggs doesn’t understand his prompting, the teen blinking uncomprehending at him. “Well…?”

Cloud chuckles softly to himself – he guesses he had been rather distant the last time they really knew one another. Curling a hand into the collar of Biggs’s shirt, he yanks the teen into a big hug. Gaia, he hadn’t even realized how much he had missed these three goofballs. “I’m really glad you guys are alive again.”

Biggs melts into the embrace at his words, the teen wrapping his arms securely around Cloud. “I-It’s...” Biggs lets out a shaky breath. “It’s so good to see you, Cloud.”

“You too, Biggs.”

Biggs curls himself around Cloud, the teen noticeably quieter than his partners in crime, but Cloud can tell he’s just as relieved. Their hug doesn’t last more than a few seconds, though, before Yuffie grows bored with being silent. “I swear, Cloud, everywhere we go, everybody’s all head over heels in love with you.” She pouts, kicking a rock listlessly to the side, her voice soft and petulant as she continues, “I mean, I don’t blame them… but we were playing…”

Pulling away from Biggs, Cloud walks back to Yuffie’s side and crouches in front of her. “Sorry, Yuf,” he says, patting her on the head. Standing back up, he slings an arm around her shoulders and steers her around to face the rest of the Avalanche crew. “Guys, this is Yuffie. She’s the best friend a person could ever ask for.” He smirks as he tacks on, “When she’s not trying to steal your materia, that is.”

“You didn’t hafta say it like that!”

Cloud ruffles her hair, laughing as he turns back to the others. “And this is Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie,” he introduces, pointing to the three of them in turn. “They’re the other members of Avalanche we told you about.”

“Ohhh.” Yuffie shrugs off Cloud’s arm, the girl striding over to Wedge and looking up at him thoughtfully.

“Uhh…” Wedge looks concerned for all of two seconds, before kneeling down in front of Yuffie, a smile on his face. “Hi there.”

“You’re the one who saved Cloud from those guard dogs and that one sweeper, right?”

Wedge’s smile falls from his face, confusion written all across his scrunched brow. “…How did you know about that?”

“Cloud told me, of course.”

Wedge turns his entirely gobsmacked expression Cloud’s way. “Y-You did?”

Cloud nods. “Of course. You really had my back.”

If Cloud had thought that Wedge was finished with the crying, if he had thought that the boy couldn’t possibly admire him more than he already did, then boy was Cloud wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time, though – _nor the last_ he can almost hear Tifa say. “B-Bro…”

Jessie takes pity on the boy’s renewed sniffling, the girl looking at Cloud approvingly – or perhaps she was just checking him out again, he can’t really tell. “I might not have changed, honey, but you sure have.”

“…Did Tifa and Barret not tell you the truth?”

“They said that you weren’t really yourself when we first met, but wouldn’t say more than that.”

Cloud takes a deep breath – he wasn’t exactly ready to talk about that creep again, but Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie deserved the truth. Cloud _trusted_ them with truth. “Have you ever heard of a man named Hojo?”

.

.

.

They had been understandably distraught when Cloud finished his story, more than just Wedge left sniffling this time. They hadn’t entirely believed him when he said he was fine, either, but Cloud had insisted. Granted, he probably wasn’t exactly fine if these warring feelings concerning Sephiroth were anything to go off of, but he’d gotten this far by ignoring his pain. It’ll be fine.

“Not that I don’t like seeing you guys, but what are you doing down this way anyway?”

His diversion is far more successful this time, all three forgetting about his Hojo problems, alarm filtering over their faces. Well, that doesn’t look good. “We came to warn Aerith to stay away from Wall Market,” Biggs answers, the teen’s frame tense. “The place is absolute chaos right now.”

Cloud almost snorts – he can imagine it’s in chaos after what Yuffie did. “Did you find anything out?”

“Not much. All I heard was something about a ‘giant ass shuriken’.”

“...Goddammit, Yuffie!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- In the Advent Children movie, Cloud asks Vincent if sins are ever forgiven. Vincent says he's never tried. So, Cloud decides that he'll try and tells Vincent that he'll phone in the verdict. Well, Vincent didn't have a phone at the time and the first thing he says when he gets to Edge for the final fight is "Where can I buy a phone?"  
> \- If anybody didn't get the cookies joke, the phrase I've always heard is "Come to the dark side, we have cookies."  
> \- Tseng's 'punishment' and a more detailed account of 'Johnson losing his johnson' used to be at the end of the previous chapter, but is now its own piece - **[Should We Really Be Doing This Here, Sir?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29186784)**. The rating for this one is mature (I wanted to keep the teen rating for this main fic).


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you guys seen the Intergrade trailer?? I was like "I don't need the definitive edition", but then Yuffie showed up. Ok, sure, fine Square Enix. Here, take my money 🤣

Rufus watches Tseng as he sleeps, running his fingers lightly through long, sweat-soaked hair. He can tell the exact moment the man stirs, the ever-attentive and observant Turk twitching under his touch, the man still half-sprawled across the desk, Rufus’s jacket now draped over him. “Shh, Tseng.” Rufus orders, even as the man’s eyes start to flutter open. “We’re safe. Rest now.”

Tseng definitely deserves the rest, too – Rufus had not been gentle with him, he had adopted a rather unforgiving pace. But the Turk – _his_ Turk – had taken his punishment well. Almost too well, if he was being honest, only soft, breathy moans and the occasional “Sir…!” passing the man’s lips.

And he will admit it, he was rather disappointed that he hadn’t managed to make Tseng beg… at least not verbally. Though, he had definitely relished the shudder that had wracked the man’s body as he ended his call with Vincent and whispered hotly in Tseng’s ear – “Now, where were we?” As they started back up, Rufus had wasted no time weaving their fingers together again, his free hand finding purchase back on Tseng’s hip.

Still, he is rather surprised with himself, he won’t lie. Raised in a world of ruthless backstabbers, he never thought he would ever trust somebody so completely. Or trust anybody at all, really. Trust was only for the weak. It would leave you dead in a ditch somewhere. Sure, he had expected his Turks to do their job, expected them to be loyal. But he had never trusted them.

Until now that is. After everything they had been through together, after everything they had done to keep _him_ safe, he trusted all of them with his life. Even Vincent.

But even though he trusted them, he still never would have imagined that he would feel this way about anybody. Never expected he would bare his soul so completely to anybody. Then again, Tseng had always been special.

It had been obvious that something was growing between them, even before Rufus became President the first time, and not just mutual trust. The heated glances, the fleeting touches, the fact that Tseng was always by his side no matter the situation. Not to mention the reality that Rufus had stayed by Tseng’s bedside and _nursed_ him back to health after Sephiroth had carved him open.

But then the Ancient had died and Tseng grew distant.

Rufus had no time to dwell on it, though. Not with Meteorfall and the planet’s Weapons attacking. Instead, he had declared war on it all – Sephiroth, Jenova, Meteor, the Weapons – had even moved the Sister Ray cannon to Midgar to help. But not to protect anybody, and certainly not to protect the _planet_. No. It was all to protect him, to protect his power, his control of Shinra Company.

It took nearly dying – more than once – for Rufus to realize the damage that his actions and those of his company as a whole had done. To discover that the people around him were more than just pawns in some elaborate game of chess.

But before he could rekindle whatever it was that had until then remained unspoken between him and Tseng, the Turk had the _nerve_ to get himself abducted. And then Rufus had gone to deal with Kadaj alone – “ _A good son would have known._ ”

When he finally saw Tseng again, the man had scolded him for the stunt he had pulled – Tseng was absolutely _furious_. Not that it made sense, though. Rufus knew that his Turks would catch him. He _trusted_ that Tseng would catch him. But instead of pointing that out, instead of reminding Tseng that protecting Rufus was the man’s job, he had scolded the Turk back. Had yelled at Tseng for being tortured, for _letting_ somebody else put their hands on him. Sure, perhaps he wasn’t exactly thinking straight – he had just fallen head-first from a high-rise – but he was the only one allowed to touch Tseng.

Everything after that was a blur. He definitely can’t remember who started that first kiss, and he only vaguely recalls Tseng throwing him over his shoulder and carrying him off – he was far too distracted by the impressive display of strength. But he’ll never forget the feeling of being so pleasantly sore in the morning, or the comforting weight of Tseng still draped protectively around him, like Rufus’s jacket around Tseng now.

Sure, their relationship shouldn’t come as that much of a shock, probably. He had flirted heavily with Tseng before they got together, of course. But that was mostly to see how the man reacted – he did so love to see what it took to break that mask of his. And Rufus prided himself on being rather skilled at it, too.

Tseng had caught on by now, naturally. Would narrow his eyes and call Rufus a tease when he had figured out what he was up to. But Rufus was always quick to remind Tseng that _he_ wasn’t the one who enjoyed tying Tseng up. Granted, he didn’t need to anyway, Tseng would listen to anything he said (except when he was ‘punishing’ Rufus). But Tseng definitely had quite the kink for seeing Rufus all trussed up.

And Rufus had quite the kink for letting him.

…Gaia, he was f@%ked, wasn’t he? Literally, figuratively, and oh so thoroughly.

.

.

.

Well, he supposes he’s stalled long enough. It was probably about time he called Lord Godo. He can’t have the man believing whatever drivel was being hand-fed to the Midgar populace right about now. It definitely wouldn’t help Midgar-Wutai relations.

Popping the headpiece for his phone in his ear, he uses his other hand to do up the fly of his pants. He’s still trying to find his black button-up shirt when the call connects, Lord Godo’s gruff voice answering. _“President Rufus. It’s always a pleasure to hear from you…”_ Rufus rolls his eyes at the formalities, they certainly had more important things to discuss. _“But I’m afraid now really isn’t the best time.”_

He doesn’t miss the strain in Godo’s voice – so he had noticed his daughter’s disappearance already. The girl certainly would be disappointed that she hadn’t managed to… ‘bamboozle’? him for longer. “Oh? Are you missing something?” he drawls, just as he finds what he himself was missing… behind a potted plant, halfway across the room. When had that happened? Huh. Well, at least he had locked the door before advancing on Tseng. He knew they had gotten a little careless in their passion, but he hadn’t realized the extent of it.

_“You...!”_

Going from the rage in the man’s voice, perhaps he should have reigned the smugness in a bit. But Lord Godo’s neglect was the entire reason they were in this mess in the first place. He wasn’t about to get a pass just because he finally remembered to be an attentive father. “Please.” He scoffs as he pulls on his shirt. “I had nothing to do with this. Though I did find out who your _little_ assassin is. Do note the emphasis on ‘little’.”

_“Yuffie would never!”_

“Oh? So you’re saying your daughter wouldn’t have it in her head that, and I quote, ‘ugly Shinra SOLDIER dudes must be punished’?” Rufus can’t help the unimpressed, almost bored tone to his voice – this phone call definitely wasn’t the highlight of his day, though he supposes it is quite a few steps above the catastrophe that was Heidegger. But, still, he wishes he had taken his time pulling Tseng apart. He had only been teasing really, but spending all afternoon with Tseng under him did sound rather tempting right now. It’s just a shame that neither of them had a SOLDIER’s stamina.

_“Uhh…”_ The audible gulp is all the sign Rufus needs to know that Yuffie hadn’t come up with that phrase all by herself.

Rolling his eyes, Rufus works on the buttons of his shirt, staring out the windows at the city below. He doesn’t miss the imagery of a king surveying his kingdom, from one smog-covered building to the next… “And you’re saying that she wouldn’t get aggravated by the lack of support in Wutai, become convinced that Sephiroth has everybody fooled, and then sail all the way to Midgar by herself? That she wouldn’t sneak into the Tower – _my_ Tower – and somehow manage to make it to the top floors undetected?” There’s an uncomfortable silence on the other end of the line, but that’s fine. Rufus wasn’t finished. “And she wouldn’t crawl her way into the air ducts, listen in on a confidential meeting, and then assault Sephiroth in a bid to avenge Wutai?”

_“Assault…?”_

“To be honest, I am rather impressed – her skill with that large shuriken alone is quite exceptional. But I will say, if she weren’t a child, I would consider this a declaration of war.”

* * *

Cloud will admit, he had been far too distracted with everything that had happened that day to remember that his roommates were still waiting for answers. After everything Yuffie had done, he had been too exasperated to think of anything else. Cause of course she would have given herself away somehow. Even though she swore up and down the church that she had been ‘super careful’ – _“Ok, sure, maybe I scaled the walls, and may-beee I snuck in through the window (if they didn’t want anybody coming in that way, they shouldn’t have left it open…). But, stillllll, I avoided all the cameras!”_

Well, apparently not all of them.

Luckily, it doesn’t seem like Corneo’s thugs know who the murderer is, not from what Biggs had overheard. Otherwise, they would have been scouring Wall Market for a tiny child rather than a giant shuriken… So at least they’ve got that going for them.

But, still. Damn Corneo and his cameras.

Cloud had been rather tempted to plaster himself to Yuffie’s side and make sure she behaved, but he technically still had a job to do. And it wasn’t like he could bring Yuffie back to his dorm, he drew enough attention as it was. So, instead, he had to leave her with Aerith. Which, honestly, was the plan from the beginning – Aerith was probably the best person to keep Yuffie in line – but it certainly didn’t help his stress levels right now. Sure, he trusts Aerith completely and he knows Yuffie can handle herself even as a tinier child, but those thugs are nasty. But Aerith had promised to keep Yuffie safe. And Yuffie had pinky sworn that she would hide her oversized weapon in the church until it was time for her to leave.

But, honestly, as much as he loved Yuffie, that day couldn’t come soon enough.

So, really, he couldn’t be blamed for not paying attention to anything else. At least not until he (quite literally) runs into Garrett and finds himself being manhandled back to their dorm room, Logan and Colin already waiting inside. As the door swings shut behind them, Garrett crosses his arms over his chest and demands, “Ok, spill.”

“What?” Cloud oh so eloquently responds. Apparently his well of quick thinking from this morning was all dried up.

Garrett sighs (as if he was the one suffering here) and pushes Cloud into the only chair in their room. Instead of moving back to his own bed, like Cloud would have thought, the teen remains in front of him, one eyebrow raised, Colin and Logan inching further up the foot of their beds. “You promised us answers,” Garrett says. “I thought the complete 180 with your personality was strange enough, but now I hear you’re off killing Directors too??”

“…Bastard had it coming,” Cloud grumbles, still a little bothered about being caught so off-guard.

“This is exactly what I’m talking about!” Garrett throws his hands in the air. “What happened to you man??” But instead of waiting for a response, the teen veers suddenly and unconsciously off tangent, face all scrunched up as he mumbles, “I mean, I totally agree, no one will miss the bastard… He was one nasty piece of work… But – ”

“Garrett, you’re not helping,” Colin cuts in, ignoring their roommate as he grunts his objection. “What we’re asking is who are you and what have you done with the real Cloud Strife?”

Cloud blinks, confused. “Wait. What?”

But Colin doesn’t get the chance to answer, Logan taking over this time, a crease set deep in his brow. “I hate to even ask this…” He grimaces, mouth twitching like he was struggling to find the best words. “But was the insecurity all a lie?”

“What?? No! Of course it wasn’t a lie!”

“We want to believe you, man,” Garrett picks back up, sweeping a hand up and down in Cloud’s direction. “But this is a bit much.”

“You just gestured to all of me…”

“Please, Cloud – ” Colin again… Cloud swears he’s going to get whiplash “ – we just want the truth.”

“You won’t believe me…” Cloud groans and pulls at his hair. “Actually, you’ll probably think I’m crazy…”

Garrett just smirks, the teen not looking phased at all. “Just to be clear, crazier than not wanting to be Sephiroth’s student?”

Cloud snorts – leave it to Garrett to insult him and lighten the mood at the same time. But as quickly as it came on, his amusement fades away, replaced once more with anxiety. He knows his roommates deserve an explanation (and an honest one at that), but he can’t imagine it’ll be an easy thing to swallow. Sighing, he runs a hand down his face. “Alright. I’ll tell you guys the truth. But don’t blame me if you don’t believe any of it.”

.

.

.

Dead silence.

That’s what greets him once he’s finished his story. Which, sure, was better than any of the other alternatives that Cloud could come up with. Better than them calling him crazy or dragging him off to a psych ward. But it still didn’t make things any less uncomfortable.

He’s tempted to fidget, he won’t lie. Fidgeting does sound like a rather natural response to how awkward this unprompted staring contest is, but he knows that that could be seen as a sign of him lying. And as crazy as it must all sound, he’s not lying. Everything he had told them was the truth.

And he had told them everything. Sephiroth, Nibelheim, Hojo. _Everything_. He wasn’t planning on it at first – it was a lot of shit to spring on them – but once he had opened his mouth, the words just kept spilling out, without any concern for Cloud’s earlier reservations.

He’s a little shocked with himself to be honest. Shocked to find out that he actually wants his roommates to know the truth, wants them to _believe_ him. Even though the cynic in him keeps warning that they never would. But he trusts his roommates. And he wants them to be able to trust him, too. Wants to be worthy of that trust. Lying to them certainly wouldn’t help.

“Well, f@%k...” Garrett rather accurately and succinctly surmises, the teen slumped at the foot of his bed, the same spot that he had stumbled to when Cloud had told them about the razing of Nibelheim. When he had described, in excruciating detail, exactly _who_ had destroyed his hometown.

“Garrett, language,” Logan scolds, most likely on auto-pilot.

“What? You were both thinking it, don’t lie.”

Logan doesn’t answer the red-head, though he does look just about as overwhelmed as the rest of them, his entire face scrunched up as if in pain. Then again, Cloud supposes that hearing your idol went (would go?) on a deranged genocidal rampage must be rather distressing, even if you didn’t exactly believe it. Logan is still the first to recover, though the pinched look remains on his face as he sounds out his words carefully. “Time… travel?”

“I know how it sounds…” Cloud mumbles, dejected – perhaps the silence was just the calm before the storm. There was still plenty of time for them to decide that he was nuttier than a fruitcake. On second thought, Garrett probably already thought he was a fruitcake for an entirely different reason…

But apparently, it’s Logan’s turn to shock Cloud. Instead of saying he’s crazy, instead of telling him he’s warking up the wrong tree, the teen sucks in a harsh breath, his eyes wide. “Is that why all this shit keeps happening to you?”

“ _Language…_ ” Garrett scolds back, snickering when Logan tells him to shut up. “Testy, testy…”

“So this is why everybody kept asking if you remembered?”

“…You believe me?” Cloud asks, more hopefully than he was expecting or really ready to admit to.

“I’m not gonna lie, you were right earlier. This all sounds super insane. But I’d like to think that I know you, Cloud. And I want to believe you.” Logan winces. “Actually, no, I _don’t_ want to believe you. I don’t want to think that Sephiroth is some planet-destroying nightmare, that he _hurt_ you… And for Gaia’s sake… _Hojo??_ ” Logan chokes on his words, his fingers turning white from where they clutch at the legs of his pants. “I thought Johnson was bad enough, but _human experimentation??_ Cloud… I-I… I mean, I’ve heard the rumors of what R&D used to do, of course, but… y-you…”

“It’s much more painful when it’s someone you know.”

Logan nods, his voice strangled as he continues, the teen looking like he’s one more Hojo-filled story away from throwing up. “I don’t want to believe that that happened to you – _it hurts so much_.” Colin is already crying, tears streaming silently down his face as his nails dig into the thin blanket on his bed, Garrett himself looking a little green around the gills. “But if it’s true, then everything from the past couple months makes so much more sense now.” As Logan continues his analysis, it would seem like he was convincing not only himself, but their other roommates of the truth to Cloud’s words. As if everything making sense was all any of them needed to believe his (admittedly ridiculous-sounding) story.

“And, honestly – ” Logan sighs, grief still plain in his eyes “ – I can’t imagine that the President, the Turks, and the 1sts would go through so much trouble to, what, trick 3 insignificant cadets?” If Cloud wasn’t so overwhelmed by all the attention, by the fact that his roommates might actually believe him, then he might think that Logan would make a good Turk with how quickly he had put the pieces together. “Besides – ” Logan offers him a half-smile, half-grimace “ – it would mean that you weren’t lying all this time about who you are.”

“Wait, wait!” Garrett jerks violently from whatever realization he had just had, the teen nearly falling from the edge of his bed. “Whoa! Ok, I’m good…” Holding his arms out as if to find his balance, he waits a couple seconds to make sure he won’t actually tumble to the floor before turning his attention back to Cloud. “Is that why Sephiroth is training you now, because he remembers too?”

Cloud nods, short and stiff, not entirely trusting his voice just yet.

“B-But, you s-said…” Colin swallows hard, tears still sliding down his face. “S-Sephiroth burned… Nibelheim to the ground?” The end of his sentence is almost a whisper, as if a softer voice would make it any less real.

Cloud’s answering laugh sounds painful even to him, but that doesn’t stop his flippant response. “To be fair, he tried to kill everybody.” Humor has always helped with the pain… Or at least he’s always pretended that it has.

But humor doesn’t help his roommates, the three of them cringing at his poorly-timed joke. Well, crap. He hadn’t meant to make things worse. So, he tries to backtrack. Wringing his hands together, he says slowly, delicately, “Apparently, he was possessed… His actions weren’t his own.”

“Do you believe him?” Logan asks.

Cloud nearly scoffs, cause of course he doesn’t believe him. This was Sephiroth they were talking about. The man destroyed everything he touched… including Cloud’s confidence in his own feelings. But… at the same time, he feels bad enough for ruining their idol for them (he definitely knew what that was like). So he can’t help himself when he offers a slightly hesitant “I… don’t know.” He doesn’t miss the sadness in Logan’s eyes, though, as if the teen knows exactly what he had been thinking. And he doesn’t dare look at Colin or Garrett to see if that same look was mirrored there.

“W-What are you g-going to do?” Colin asks, the teen thankfully not calling him out on his fib. “Do you still have to t-train with him?”

“I don’t know… And probably,” Cloud admits, letting out a bitter laugh. It certainly didn’t sound like he was going to get an indefinite raincheck on Sephiroth’s mentoring. “I can’t promise I won’t try to kill him, though.” Colin squeaks, so Cloud holds his hands out in front of him (as if the boy was a spooked Chocobo) and hastily tacks on, “Don’t worry. It’s not like I’d actually be able to kill him. Not permanently at least.” And he had tried, too – three times!

They lapse into a terribly uncomfortable silence at that, his addition doing nothing to reassure his roommates, all three of them still tense in front of him. Well, apparently, he hasn’t learned to stop making bad jokes yet. But before he can figure out a way to lighten the mood, before he can alleviate _anything_ – though, honestly, how could he after telling them all about Sephiroth’s god (and mother) complex? – Garrett is coughing awkwardly into a fist, the teen uncharacteristically uncomfortable and reserved as he asks, “And you’re saying that Zack… died protecting you?”

“…Yeah,” Cloud answers, a far-off look in his eyes, the usual heartache returning at the thought of Zack’s premature death.

“So, that’s why Zack never leaves your side… not because he wants to kiss you senseless.”

The end of his sentence is mumbled mainly to himself, but that doesn’t stop Cloud from hearing him. Nor does it stop him from blushing all the way to the roots of his hair, all thoughts of Zack’s death forgotten. “Y-Yeah, I guess s-so,” he squeaks in response. He is _so_ not telling anybody about Zack’s and Aerith’s proposal. There’s no way he would ever hear the end of that.

But Cloud doesn’t have to worry about letting anything embarrassing slip, what with Colin fidgeting nervously in front of him, the boy turning greener if at all possible. “J-Johnson… – ” Cloud winces again, and he really wishes he could stop this kneejerk reaction in response to the bully’s name “ – Did he… you know, before?”

Colin motions stiffly and unhelpfully to Cloud’s body, but Cloud thinks he understands what he’s asking anyway. “I don’t remember everything from my infantry days the first time around – mako poisoning is _great_ – but I’m pretty sure I was never assaulted. I certainly don’t remember it happening, and I think at least the trauma would have stuck with me.” And Cloud has enough trauma to prove that claim. “Besides, I was stationed in Junon the first time, I’m pretty sure I never met him.” He falls silent for a moment, racking his brain for any memories that might help, his eyes glued to the floor in front of his feet. “I… know I had bullies in Junon, but I don’t remember being terrified of them like I was with Johnson. I don’t remember anybody being as persistent… as relentless in their attentions as he was.” Cloud chuckles bitterly, not daring to look at any of his roommates as he admits, “He really messed me up. I know I was self-conscious before, but it was nowhere near this bad. Even now… even with all my memories back, I’m still somewhat afraid of him and what he tried to do.”

“Trauma’s nothing to laugh at,” Logan provides sagely (sorrowfully?).

“Wait. Why aren’t we beating him up again?”

The indignation in Garrett’s voice is enough to snap Cloud’s attention back to the teen, and he finds he can’t help but laugh – _hard_ – at the disgruntled look on his friend’s face. “You don’t even need to worry about that. Vincent already took care of it.”

.

.

.

It took some time, and a lot of consoling on Cloud’s part that, yes, he really was fine, but Colin’s crying had eventually stopped and the tension in Logan’s body had eventually smoothed itself out until only a small crease around his eyes was visible. This was, of course, after Garrett had finished cackling, gleefully and rather sadistically, at the news of Johnson’s maiming – “What? That asshole deserved it.”

“Do you think we’ll remember, too?” Garrett asks, rather unexpectedly, and Cloud can’t decide whether his expression is hopeful or apprehensive. On one hand, he can imagine the idea of remembering might seem like being part of the cool kids’ club. But on the other, remembering definitely was not all it was cracked up to be. Cloud certainly knows he could do without all the extra trauma that remembering brought with it.

“I don’t think so. Aerith said something about it only being those who tried to save the planet the first time… Except for Sephiroth, that is.”

Garrett groans, disappointed – so it was hope that Cloud saw. “Dangit. Relegated to the role of NPC.”

Cloud snorts, but is distracted once more as Colin pipes up, “So, we didn’t know each other the first time around?”

“Nah, I was in Junon, remember…” But Cloud trails off as flashes of a cramped vessel come back to him. “Wait… Colin, say something else.”

“U-Uh… W-Why?”

**_“We don’t have much time left! I don’t want to die!”_ **

Cloud can’t help his laughter – now he knows why the boy’s voice sounds so familiar. “Sorry, Col, I’m pretty sure I had a run in with your older self when I was still technically a terrorist.”

Colin gulps, his eyes wide. Understandable, though – Cloud probably could have phrased his sentence better. “Y-You mean…?”

“Don’t worry. I never killed you or anything. My friends and I commandeered a submarine, and I think you were one of the troopers we took hostage.”

“One of the troopers…?” Colin sniffles, and Cloud very nearly apologizes – for exactly what, he’s not sure – but then words he wasn’t expecting to hear come out of Colin’s mouth. “…You’re saying I w-won’t become a SOLDIER?”

Oh. He’s not sure what he was expecting, but that definitely wasn’t it. “For what it’s worth, I never made SOLDIER, either.” But his words don’t do the trick, Colin picking at the fabric of his pants miserably. Cloud sighs, a sort of gloomy mood nestling its way into his chest. Being a SOLDIER wasn’t all it was hyped up to be, especially with all the metaphorical and literal skeletons under the rug that was Research and Development. But, at the same time, he can’t stand to see that look on Colin’s face. He didn’t care for it when Colin was a nameless and faceless stranger afraid to die, but it’s so much worse now that he knows the kid, now that he _likes_ the kid. “Ok. We need to have a long talk about the SOLDIER serum and what it’s really made of… But if you still want to be a SOLDIER afterwards, I’ll train you.”

* * *

He had gone to bed that night unhappy. Sure, it was nice to finally be back in the loop on everything. It was wonderful to finally remember all of his friends, to remember that he actually _has_ friends. But all of that, all of the joy at seeing Zack and Aerith alive, the relief at hearing his friends’ voices again, it was all overshadowed by this looming threat of Sephiroth back once more.

He had tossed and turned most of the night, his mind torturing him with the nearly endless possibilities for Sephiroth’s intentions. Yes, he knows that he’s supposedly there to stop Sephiroth from losing himself. But why him? Why was it always him? Hadn’t he done enough?

Besides, there was no dearth of fully-fledged SOLDIERS, especially now that Rhapsodos and Hewley hadn’t deserted this time. Surely one of them was more suited to this. If he could be trained by Sephiroth, then why couldn’t they? He had only ever played make-believe. True, he’s the only one who’s ever killed Sephiroth, but the first time was just a fluke.

And if for some reason it had to be him – and that in and of itself seemed silly with Rhapsodos, Hewley, _and_ Zack all alive and well again – if he was honestly the only person who could handle Sephiroth, why did he have to be trained by him? Rhapsodos and Hewley were practically on par with the man, certainly they would be reasonable replacements. If he was supposed to fight Sephiroth again, if he needed the resolve to potentially _kill_ him again, then it seemed like a pretty shitty idea to allow Cloud to develop an emotional attachment to him.

And speaking of emotional attachments, what were they planning to do if he never remembered? Would they have just stuck him with a needle and gone _Woohoo, you’re enhanced. Now go kill Sephiroth_? Seriously, what the hell? Did they honestly believe that he would have the resolve to murder his mentor, his _idol_ without the support of all those terrible memories? Without the encouragement of fire and blood behind his eyelids? And would they have ever told him the truth? Sure, he couldn’t exactly claim to have the best track record when it came to finding out the truth, but that’s beside the point.

Plagued with his turbulent thoughts as he was, he’s not entirely sure when he had fallen asleep. He just knows that he was still absolutely exhausted when he had startled awake at 4 in the morning, Hojo’s cackling still ringing throughout his head.

He had tried to will himself back to sleep – training was already going to suck today, he didn’t need to throw physical and mental fatigue into the mix – but the moment he closed his eyes again was the moment he found slitted green staring back at him. His shock was so bad, that he had sent himself clattering to the floor once more, dread tearing through his veins like the echoes of mako this morning.

He had stayed like that, braced on his hands and knees on the floor, eyes wide and probably bloodshot for Gaia knows how long. It wasn’t like he was keeping track. No, he had been far too focused on the trembling that was wracking his body and the almost compulsive urge to never close his eyes again. Sure, he knows he had acted strong and masterfully composed in Rufus’s office. But that’s all it was – an act. It was just posturing, false bravado. He wasn’t ready to do this. To face Sephiroth again. Heck, wasn’t the third time supposed to be the charm anyway?

It wasn’t until the terror had subsided – well, until Cloud had bottled the terror back up, really – and pushed himself back to wobbly legs, that he realized he wasn’t exactly alone for this breakdown. His roommates were still in the room. Naturally, he had frozen in place, his breathing coming to a stop in an attempt to make as little noise as possible. It was entirely too late, of course, to do any good, but it was instinctual. Yet, the slow, even breathing that met him, that was in direct disagreement to his still pounding heart, was enough to tell him that his roommates were still asleep. Then again, if the sonorous grumble that was Garrett’s snoring wasn’t enough to wake them, then nothing was.

* * *

After that spectacularly botched attempt at trying to get back to sleep, Cloud was too afraid to try again (or to close his eyes again, really). Instead, he had snuck through the Tower once more – _so_ much easier now that everybody else was asleep – and claimed the Combat Simulator for himself. If he had to deal with demons haunting him, then he knew just the remedy.

So what if he hadn’t had any sleep or if he had skipped breakfast? And what does it matter if the monsters he was fighting had started to look like Sephiroth? If they had started adopting his mannerisms, if they were taunting him the same way Sephiroth used to – “ ** _You are too weak to save anyone. Not even yourself._** _”_ It made no difference to him. He had survived worse.

And so what if he had started stumbling 10 Wererats, 7 Blugus, 5 Kalm Fangs, and 3 Nibel Wolves into his impromptu training? So what if he had narrowly avoided the harsh embrace of 5 sets of teeth, 3 tail fins, and 1 masterfully-aimed trident? He had cast Shield on himself for a reason.

Tifa would probably scold him for his ‘unhealthy’ coping mechanisms if she was here. Beg him to talk to somebody, or ‘have his head shrunk’ as Yuffie liked to put it. But Tifa wasn’t there to stop him. Nobody was. Besides, he was a grown-ass man, regardless of the tiny body he was currently in. He’ll do what he wants.

“I heard that I would find you here.”

Whirling around, hackles raised, Cloud comes face-to-face with another monster wearing Sephiroth’s skin. How had it snuck up on him? More importantly, when had Cloud summoned another one to fight? Gaia, he was too tired to remember... Well, whatever, he doesn’t have time for that now. Not with the creature watching him from the other end of the cliffside.

Sure, perhaps the Midgar Wasteland wasn’t the best choice of scenery for him, especially in his sleep-deprived state. And not with the ghost of Zack always a turn away. But if it distracted him from the remnants of Hojo’s experimentation, then so be it.

Yet, distracted as he is, he doesn’t miss the calculating look the still-disguised monster sends his way. It doesn’t deserve more than a passing thought, though. Sure, it was almost impressively accurate, laughably so when compared to the monsters he fought earlier, but perhaps his inner demons were just adapting to his defenses. So much so that the creature almost sounded concerned. He won’t fall for it, though. He’s had enough of the real Sephiroth’s mind games to last him two lifetimes.

Besides, he knows just how to deal with Sephiroth – imagined or not.

Unfortunately, in his weary state, it takes far too long to be considered good reflexes for the signal from his brain to reach the rest of his body. But the monster across the room is still surprisingly stationary by the time he manages to launch himself at it with a loud _“HYA!!”_

It’s only when his wrist is enclosed, a flick of the demon’s own sending his borrowed sword clanging to the floor, that he realizes his mistake. This was the real Sephiroth.

Jerking back from the man’s confusingly gentle grip, Cloud finds himself toppling to the floor, sparks already radiating outwards from his wrist. “Uhh… Sorry,” he apologizes, entirely instinctually, unable to think straight with Sephiroth’s (shocked?) eyes pinning him to the floor.

“…It’s ok.”

He stays sprawled like that for a heart-stopping eternity, entirely too startled by the man’s appearance and his own appalling mistake to do more than blink stupidly at the man towering above him. That is, until Sephiroth holds a hand out to him, and Cloud finds a way to pull himself out of his stupor. Scrambling away, he drags himself back to his feet, far more unsteadily than he cares to admit, but he can handle himself. He doesn’t need any help.

“How did you know where to find me?” he asks, suddenly far more interested in studying the floor he had just left rather than the man he had power-crawled away from.

“Tseng owed me a favor.”

“Oh, right… cameras.”

Cloud knows he’s swaying. He tries to hide it, he really does. But Sephiroth hadn’t been promoted to General for nothing. Not to mention that the man had always been terrifyingly hyperfocused when it came to him. “Have you gotten any sleep, Cloud?”

He absolutely hates the way his name sounds coming from Sephiroth’s lips. Not that he would tell him. Not that he would give the man any more ammunition to use against him. But while he’s at least moderately successful at hiding his reflexive twitch, he still can’t help his curt tone when he replies, “I got enough.”

Sephiroth pauses, Cloud can feel it. But he’s so not ready for the concern staring back at him when he finally looks up. Had he said he was used to the man’s mind games? He doesn’t think he really was… Not if the unease building inside of him was anything to go by. But, before he can devolve further into his unnerved, fidgety state, Sephiroth sighs. “You should get some rest, Cloud. We’ll continue your training tomorrow.”

“No, I’m fine. I can do this.” Theoretically, judging from the tingling in his limbs and the gnawing in his stomach, he probably isn’t fine. But he doesn’t need pity from Sephiroth of all people. And honestly, he’s a little offended at the implication that he looks like he needs rest. He doesn’t look that bad, does he?

“Cloud, you’re in no state – ”

“I _said_ I’m fine.”

There’s another lengthy pause and a far more resigned sigh before Sephiroth gives in this time. “…Very well.” The man presses a button on the control panel, and the Wasteland dissolves in front of them.

.

.

.

Up, down, feint left, slash right. It’s all the same. Nothing makes a difference. Nothing he does is enough to break through that mask of Sephiroth’s. It doesn’t matter how he thrusts, lunges, swings (sways?), Sephiroth remains practically motionless, the man sparing only the barest effort to block those hits that Cloud lands, and providing no acknowledgement to the ones that don’t even graze the air in front of him. No scolding, no mocking, no taunting smirk.

And that pisses Cloud off. Had it always been this difficult? He doesn’t think so. Then again, he can’t think of much right now. Not with the way his limbs (and head) ache and his stomach growls. But he doesn’t need to think, just act. He can do this.

Jumping back, he takes a deep breath to prepare himself for his next move (and not to make sure that his legs hadn’t completely turned to jelly, thank you). But that’s when he sees it. Sees Sephiroth break his statue-esque pose and rush him, Masamune raised in front of him.

**_“Tell me what you cherish most. Give me the pleasure of taking it away.”_ **

Gritting his teeth, Cloud steels himself and leaps to meet his living nightmare. He’s not sure why those words are enough to unnerve him so. It’s not like it’s the first time he’s heard them. And it certainly wasn’t the first time Sephiroth had charged at him, either. Besides, he knew the man would drop the harmless act sooner or later. It was only a matter of time.

With a harsh grunt, he brings his sword down in a violent arc, slicing clean through man and Masamune alike. But his victory is short-lived, and Cloud is left to watch, stunned, as the Sephiroth in front of him disappears, dissolving into thin air like the simulated monsters from before. Not even daring to blink, he drags his eyes upwards to where the real Sephiroth is, the man unmoved from his spot in the center of the room, an unreadable look on his face.

**_“You have failed again, I see.”_ **

Cloud can’t help his scowl as he lunges at the real Sephiroth this time. Who was Sephiroth to judge him? Who cares if Cloud was hallucinating? He wasn’t the only one who had failed. Cloud had been through hell and back, had been tempered over and over and _over_ again because of Sephiroth’s own failures.

Their charade continues like this for another 10 or so strokes, but when Cloud stops to catch his breath once more, Sephiroth sighs and sheathes his sword. “That’s all for today, Cloud.”

“No, I’m not done yet!” Cloud growls and lunges at the man once more.

He’s not entirely sure what he was expecting, but Sephiroth batting his sword out of his hand as if it were no more than a twig and holding the sheathed end of Masamune up against his throat definitely wasn’t it. “Cloud, that is enough.” The man’s voice brooks no argument, the end of his sword tilting Cloud’s chin up to meet his eyes. Cloud scowls back, but he can’t deny the shiver that goes down his spine. “You’re in no condition to keep fighting.”

“But, I – ”

“No, Cloud. And that’s final.” Before Cloud can entirely process that the man’s katana is no longer pressed to his throat, before he can register that he can move his head again, Sephiroth has collected Cloud’s own discarded sword, keeping the overused weapon safely out of Cloud’s reach. “…You know, If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were actually trying to kill me.”

“The thought never would have crossed my mind,” Cloud responds, his eyes as dead as his mother’s all those years ago.

* * *

“Oh, Sephiroth, darling! There you are!”

Cloud finds he can’t help the scowl that slides over his face. Not at the sight of the red-clad woman throwing herself all over Sephiroth. But he swears it’s because he can’t stand Scarlet, regardless of how she was cradling Sephiroth’s arm to her oversized bosom.

At least Tifa’s was real.

“Scarlet, did you need something?” Sephiroth asks, unimpressed, the man delicately prying his arm from her clutches. Cloud is only slightly disappointed that Sephiroth wasn’t rougher while freeing himself. He definitely wouldn’t have minded seeing the man fling Scarlet across the room – _Ding dong! The witch is dead!_

…Well, he can dream at least.

“I wanted to finally meet your little pet, dearest, but I don’t think he likes me that much! _Kya ha ha_!!”

Cloud bites back his groan even as he looks up to find Scarlet regarding him like a cat would a mouse. Gaia, he already had to deal with _Gya ha ha_ yesterday, did he really have to put up with _Kya ha ha_ , too?

“You’ll have to forgive him, he had a rough night,” Sephiroth answers for him. Which, fine, whatever. It’s not like he was doing that great a job of thinking straight today anyway.

“Oh, did he now?” Scarlet raises an eyebrow, her eyes roving over Cloud as if she was trying to find any chinks in his armor that she could exploit. There’s something of a suggestive look on her face as she eyes him up, but Cloud’s honestly in no state to be putting two and two together right now to figure out what she’s thinking. “Well, I’m sure your little kitten can speak for himself.”

“My apologies, miss. I didn’t mean any disrespect,” Cloud replies, doing his best to school his face into a mask of indifference. He thinks he’s only successful at reducing his scowl to a slight wince, though. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

The trooper escorting Scarlet jolts at his words, but Scarlet only spares a quick quirk of her brow his way. “It would seem that a lot of people had trouble sleeping last night. Especially with what that idiot Heidegger tried to do.”

Cloud blinks, uncomprehending, at the flashy woman. He doesn’t remember Scarlet ever being this understanding, or even being _known_ to be understanding… But, whatever, he’s too tired to focus on that now. Not that he even has the time to focus on anything, not with the way Scarlet is smirking at him. “You know, Sephiroth. Your little kitten is absolutely adorable. You should be careful or somebody might snatch him right out from underneath you.”

Brain still failing him, Cloud remains entirely frozen to the spot, watching helplessly as Scarlet reaches out to grab him. He had never learned how to (appropriately) handle an older woman making a move on him.

But it turns out Cloud doesn’t need to know what to do, Sephiroth swatting the woman’s straying hand away and stepping in front of him, a surprising amount of anger in the man’s voice as he warns, “I’m in no mood for your games today, Scarlet.”

“Touchy.”

Cloud peers, baffled, around his temporary and unexpected shield as Scarlet strides off, the woman not appearing intimidated in the slightest, a smirk still on her lips. What just happened?

“Come along, Cloud.”

“…Right.”

* * *

“If I’m being honest, Cloud, I should probably discipline you for going to the Simulator alone without telling anybody of your whereabouts,” Sephiroth informs him after they’ve returned to the man’s office. Well, after Sephiroth ordered him back to his office, really. Cloud still wasn’t entirely ready to talk to him just yet. Or ever. But Sephiroth never did care for what he wanted. “But I know how hard this must be for you.”

Cloud shoots out of his chair – the one he had only taken cause Sephiroth insisted he sit down – as anger swells in him. What did Sephiroth know? Crossing his arms indignantly (not defensively and certainly not self-consciously) in front of him, he snaps back, “No, you don’t! You don’t know a damn thing about me!”

All emotion drains from Sephiroth’s face, that unreadable mask back once more, as the man regards him from the other side of his desk. After a brief, tense pause, Sephiroth nods slowly and concedes, “…Very well. But still, there are rules in place for a reason. You can’t go breaking them just because you’re my student.” Cloud pulls a face at the reminder of his ‘lofty’ position. “From here on out, you’ll need to be accompanied by either me or one of the other 1sts if you wish to go any higher than the 59th floor.”

Cloud sneers at the man in front of him, his hands falling from his chest to ball up at his sides. “I’m supposed to save the world from you – _again_ – and I need a _f@%king_ chaperone??”

“Cloud, please watch your language.”

“You’re not my mother! You wanna know how I know that?! You killed her!!”

**_“Good, Cloud. Very good. Hold on to that hatred.”_ **

“…My apologies.”

Cloud’s almost won over by the regretful look on Sephiroth’s face, but he knows better. He knows who the real Sephiroth is, and this wasn’t it. The damn voices in his head that won’t. shut. up. are proof enough of that. “Apologies don’t change a damn thing!” Sephiroth flinches, but really, he has no right to. Absolutely no right. “You can’t honestly have expected me to be happy about this,” he gestures at Sephiroth like Garrett had him last night. “What was the point of you training me anyway? Surely, Rhapsodos or Hewley would have been enough.”

**_“You’re the only one capable of stopping me.”_ **

The words in his head certainly don’t explain anything. But he ignores them in favor of picking apart whatever flimsy excuse Sephiroth has come up with this time. “Angeal and Genesis are certainly very strong, but they’ve never bested me. And I’m not willing to take any chances, Cloud. If I lose the fight to Jenova again, I need to know that I can be stopped. My training you was the only logical solution.”

“Why couldn’t one of the other SOLDIERs be trained, then? Surely, they would have been a better option, especially with my track record with mako poisoning.”

But Sephiroth just shakes his head, sad slitted eyes holding Cloud’s own. “…It has to be you, Cloud.”

“Oh?” Cloud’s sure the sneer is still on his face. He’s _so_ not impressed right now.

“You are the only one that has ever defeated me, the only one who has ever matched me.” Sephiroth looks embarrassed, but Cloud knows that can’t be right. It must be the sleep-deprivation again. “…And you’re the only one I’ve ever dropped my guard around.” Cloud bristles at the implication that he could only ever match Sephiroth because the man underestimated him. He almost tells Sephiroth that the man can take his guard and shove it, but Sephiroth apparently isn’t finished listing Cloud’s ‘virtues’. “You’re resourceful, Cloud. You recognize your shortcomings and you know how to compensate for them.” Cloud doesn’t care if he’s unenhanced. If Sephiroth says anything about his height, he’ll punch him. “And you know how to use your enemy’s strength to your advantage. That might not seem important, but I can say for a fact that most of the SOLDIERs currently on the roster aren’t even capable of admitting that their opponent is stronger than they are, much less using it to their advantage.”

Cloud’s almost tempted to blush at or even thank the man for the praise (was it praise?). But he hadn’t gotten this far by being agreeable. Raising an eyebrow, unimpressed, he drawls, “Oh? And you think that makes me the best candidate?” He would have given anything to hear those words when he was a kid. Heck, he was still dreaming of being Sephiroth’s equal not even two days ago. But now? Now he just feels so empty inside… Though, that might just be the hunger talking.

“I know it does.” Cloud scoffs, but Sephiroth pays him no mind. “Besides, you already know what would happen if I fail again. You have those memories fueling you. You are the only candidate.”

“What of Zack? He was there that day, too. And he’s stronger than me. Surely, he should be trained, too.” Even as the words fall from his mouth, Cloud hates himself for them. Hates himself for so callously offering Zack to the god of death in front of him.

But before he has a chance to walk back his words, to take back his unfair sacrifice, Sephiroth sighs. The man leans back in his chair, even while Cloud still stands tense in front of him, and crosses his arms over his almost bare chest … Not that Cloud was looking. “Angeal and Genesis were enhanced the same way as I, and are both therefore susceptible to Jenova’s influence. Zack will already have his hands full if either of them turn.”

Ok, fine. Cloud will give Sephiroth that point. He hadn’t even thought of that. Doesn’t mean he’s happy, though. “So, I’m just a failsafe?? Is that why you spent so much time looking for me the other day?? Because I’m the only one who can ‘match’ you??”

**_“I’m glad you’re safe.”_ **

Cloud shakes his head in a vain attempt to block out the voices, to ignore the feeling of strong arms wrapped protectively around him, of warm hands branding his body. He’s disgusted that he actually _wants_ Sephiroth to touch him, to hold him again, to tell him that he’s safe. Hates that he yearns to be on the receiving end of the man’s dry humor – _I found him first, Gen_ – and rumbling laughter again. That he craves the feeling of sparks tingling throughout his body as his hands are encased in Sephiroth’s once more.

“No, Cloud! Of course not!” The alarm in the man’s voice is enough to pull Cloud from his head, and he finds that Sephiroth had risen from his seat, his hands now braced against his desk. Wow, the man certainly was going to a lot of effort to convince Cloud of his sincerity… Then again, he didn’t exactly have the puppet thing going for him this time. But, still, Cloud will admit that the concern written all across that deceptively handsome face was rather impressive. “I would never…”

Cloud snorts derisively – he would never what? Use him? Hurt him? Yeah, right. “What would you have done if I never remembered?? Would you have told me anything?? I’m not strong like Zack! I wouldn’t have had the resolve to k-kill you…” Even as he chokes on his words, the voices are back, berating him again.

**_“Don’t pretend you’re sad. Why tremble with anger that’s not even there?”_ **

“Cloud…”

There are tears rolling down his cheeks now – maybe that was why Sephiroth looked so bothered by this talk – but Cloud’s too far gone to care. “You’ve seen first-hand how crappy my self-confidence is! What the hell were you going to do if I never remembered??”

“We were trying to build up your self-confidence.”

“Really? And how was that going for you?” Sephiroth winces, but Cloud doesn’t give him time to answer. It was a rhetorical question anyway. “And what if I never remembered? You know what happened the last time I was bathed in mako. Would you have just stuck me with a needle and hoped for the best?? Would you have cackled like Hojo, too, while you were at it?? While I writhed as the mako tore through me??”

**_“But through suffering you will grow strong. Isn’t that what you want?”_ **

“No! Of course not!”

Cloud doesn’t even have it in him to process the horror on Sephiroth’s face. “Was everything a lie?? Was this all a trick just so you could get me to do what you wanted??” Sephiroth opens his mouth, but Cloud doesn’t give him the chance to talk. He doesn’t want to hear it. “Were you just going to pump me full of Jenova cells without telling me anything?!?”

**_“Face it, Cloud. All you are is an empty puppet.”_ **

Groaning, Cloud grabs his head as he’s assaulted by these warring memories of Sephiroth. Gaia, he’s crazy. Crazier than when Sephiroth was still pulling his little puppet strings. If he wasn’t already positive that he no longer had any S-cells in him – his eyes certainly don’t glow anymore – then he might be convinced that the man was playing with his head again.

“Cloud! Are you ok?!”

He looks up just in time to see Sephiroth reaching for him, the man on Cloud’s side of the table now. Eyes widening in fear, he jerks back, his hand reaching subconsciously for Tsurugi, panic setting in when all he finds is thin air. “DON’T TOUCH ME!!”

Sephiroth stands frozen in front of him, his hand still dangling in the air, the man barely breathing. “…Cloud.”

“Haven’t you ruined my life enough??”

“Please, Cloud…”

“I thought – ” Cloud chokes on his words again, stopping himself from saying something pathetic like ‘ _I thought you cared about me_ ’. As if he would actually say anything like that. As if he would show any more weakness in front of Sephiroth.

“Cloud, please, let me – ”

“Just leave me alone!!” is all Cloud manages before he practically flees from Sephiroth’s office.

**_“Run, Cloud… Run away.”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- First off, I am sorry. I know some of you probably expected that talk to go better, but I figure things have to get worse for before they get better.  
> \- I was thinking of How to Train Your Dragon ("You just gestured to all of me") while writing this chapter, and then my friend said "Ding dong the witch is dead" in reference to something this week, which is how those two phrases made their way into this chapter.  
> \- I meant to cover Cloud's self-confidence issues several chapters ago, but I kept thinking of new things to add to the fic and it kept getting pushed back. But, anyway, part of the reason his self-confidence was worse this time around was because he never knew Johnson the first time (and Johnson's a nasty piece of work).  
> \- Also, I have been waiting since like Chapter 1 to make that "Relegated to the role of NPC" joke!  
> \- My brother sent me [this joke](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/l9fri1/final_fantasy_7_came_24_years_ago_today/). Excuse me while I go cry in a corner 😭


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